The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord
by anunymau5
Summary: Part Two of the Equestria Key. EKey has been cured of his insanity but still has three demigods to fight. More romance, more sarcasm, and more chaos. Read part one first. It's probably a good idea. Rated M for violence, swearing, and ponies! Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord

By Anunymau5

Chapter 1: A burning cabin.

_Toronto Canada: 8:23 Pm, Queen Street._

A man sits at the corner of the street, humming. A low mournful tune,

"And so it was told,

That the one in black would cleanse the world.

Two would be one,

And the guardian would awaken,"

He stops singing, to take a drink from the bottle of water he spent all day saving for. He then stretches his legs and looks up at the sky.

"Christ almighty that doesn't look good." He says to himself, "all hells gonna break loose soon."

He hears someone cough and looks back at the sidewalk. Standing in front of him is a local police officer.

"Can I help you sir?" he asks, Pausing to take another sip of water. The police officer looks down at him,

"You know it's against the law to stay here." He says.

"I'm sorry but I have nowhere to go." The man says.

"What's your name?" He asks puzzled.

"Just call me someone else…" He mumbles looking away.

"Hmm, Alright you're coming with me." The Police officer says lifting the man up by his arm. The man stands up and dusts himself off, looking at the sky again.

"Stay safe EKey, you have a lot ahead of you."

_Equestria: Outside of Ponyville, 8:23 am._

I wake up, with a slight groan. I roll over and see a cyan pony lying beside me, with her arms wrapped around my chest. I smile and kiss her forehead gently. She mumbles and yawns, then hugs me tighter. I try to get up but she doesn't let me, nuzzling her head against my neck as she does so.

"But I'm hungry…" I complain. She giggles and still holds on to me, poorly pretending to be asleep.

"fineee…" I say, giving in. She smiles and kisses me, "I always win." She says, "now can we go back to sleep? Its wayyyyyy to early!"

"alright." I say then hug her and fall back to sleep.

Roughly and hour later, I am awoken by movement. I look over and see Rainbow Dash with the blankets off and stretching. She twists her neck a little and pushes her mane out of her eyes. Then looks over at me and smiles softly. I get up as well, rubbing the bandage on my forehead. It still hurt from me hitting my head against the floor during my…er….incident.

It was only a week ago that I fought that thing inside my head, but the other ponies still gave me a wary eye and often whispered behind my back. All except Rainbow Dash, she felt that we were now even after the incident with her nightmares, but was still quick to defend me. The insane apocalyptic nightmares stopped but I still often woke up sweating in the middle of the night. The tentacled pony's grinning face still clear in my mind. Princess Celestia had made me stay there for another night just to make sure there weren't any relapses but nothing went wrong and I was allowed to go back home the next day.

I got out of bed and slowly shuffled downstairs. I opened my fridge hoping that somehow a bag of chips and some type of energy drink had teleported them selves in there. Even in Equestria, miracles like that can't happen…sadly. I put some toast and waffles in the toast and got about getting some plates and cutlery out when I heard a yell from upstairs!

"Oh SNAP I'M LATE!" I hear Rainbow Dash yell. I look over to see Raibow Dash bolt into the room and grab the waffle I'm about to put on my plate. She quickly eats it and then grabs a glass of water.

"I'm sorry I can't stay EKey, but I got work today!" she yells franticly. She then tosses the cup into the sink runs over and kisses me, then bolts out the front door. Leaving me sitting there with a bewildered look on my face. I walk back to the toaster and set about making another waffle.

As I sit down, I rub my head again, puzzled by last nights dream. The man in Toronto sounded just like my vessel. He also knew who I was! I shake my head (at least it's not a nightmare). I hear the ding of my toaster and set up my breakfast.

An hour later, I am walking towards Twilight's house ignoring the whispers and stares as I do so. I get distracted by the clouds…again and crash into a pony!

"Oh um…I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention…oh hi EKey…" says Fluttershy as she gets off of the ground. I step back and hold out a hoof, helping her up.

"No it's my fault." I say, "I wasn't paying attention." She looks up at me and blushes, "oh well it's ok EKey…um how are you feeling?" she asks.

"Pretty good I guess, still having weird dreams about that night, but nothing else." I say. Fluttershy smiles and picks up a small basket of flowers.

"Oh that's good…so where are you headed now?"

"I'm going to Twilight's for some more training.." I say.

"Oh that sounds fun…well I have to go feed Angel…um bye…" she says.

"Bye Fluttershy." I say waving to her as she walks away.

I continue to Twilight's house and knock on the front door. She opens it with a huge smile.

"Hi EKey! So what are we gonna work on today?" she asks excitedly.

"Well, I was thinking lightning magic…!" I say with a wicked grin. Twilight's smile quickly changes into a worried frown.

"Um I don't know about that EKey, electrical magic is unpredictable and extremely dangerous." She says.

"Pleaseee?" I ask. She sighs and shrugs, "ok I guess…"

She then walks over to one of the many bookshelves in her treehouse. She scans the aged titles and lifts one up with her magic.

"Here we go, All about Lightning magic by Hooflin the Wizard." She hands the book to me, "also, try talking to Rainbow Dash about lightning, she should know a lot about it. After all she does enjoy pranking people with it."

I pick up the ancient and heavy tome and go to the table of contents. I quickly lok for something that sounds badass, (Electro Cannon? That sounds hardcore…) I turn to page 276 and start reading.

"No EKey! You're starting with the first spell! I don't find if you skip ahead with some of the other types of magic, but this is Lightning, the risks are too extreme! Now go to the first spell." Says Twilight.

"Fine…" I say aggravated. I go back to the first spell, Lighting pulse. Used for stunning and disabling. I sigh and read the basic spell instructions. I then put down the book and raise my arms to test it out.

"Whoah EKey! Not in here!" says Twilight as she drags me outside. We walk into her backyard where she turns to face me, "ok EKey the first thing to remember with electrical magic is don't focus the spell on one area, try to focus it on a circle or any multisided shape."

"Ok" I say and raise my hands…sorry hooves. I picture a red ring around what I'm firing the spell at and get ready.

"I still don't think this is a good idea…are you sure about this? Even I'm not good at Lightning magic!." Says Twilight. I look over at her,

"Come on Twilight, the spell is just for stunning. What's the worst that could happen?" I ask as I raise my arms again and am blown backwards several feet!

I blink, (my head hurts…a lot). I then groan as I realize my entire body hurts. I lift my hooves slowly, noticing the two trails of smoke as I do so. I hear a fain voice but everything is drowned out by a sharp ringing noise! I try to get up but everything fades to black…

I open my eyes groggily. I close them and open them again. I raise my arm, shielding myself from the glare of the sun. I sit up, feeling the bones in my neck crunch and reset themselves. Then I prop myself up on my elbows, slowly surveying my surroundings. I stretch and retract my wings once or twice, getting the feeling in them back. I then shuffle to my feet, swaying a little.

"The hell happened..?" I groan as I head towards the front door. I walk in to Twilight living room, where she's lying down and reading. She looks up with a smile,

"Ah feeling better?" She asks with a smirk,

"What happened to me?" I ask, "How long was I out?"

"About three hours, and you proved that your spell works." She says.

"Whaddya mean it worked? I knocked myself out for three hours!" I exclaim.

"The spell disabled you! Although it was a lot more powerful than the normal version which knocks you out for 10 minutes." She says as she puts down the book.

"Oh lovely," I say as I stretch my battered limbs, "Do you mind if I go home now?"

"Not at all, you must be sore." She says with a smirk. I grin and walk back out, slowly heading for my house. I look upwards, trying to find Rainbow Dash but I can't see her. (Maybe she's done her work…) I think as I trudge towards my front door.

I open it with a groan and shuffle inside, holding my aching head. I hear a small sniffle and walk into my living room to find Rainbow Dash sitting there holding a letter.

"Hey" I say,

"Oh um hi.." Says Rainbow Dash as she looks over at me with red eyes. I sit down next to her,

"Are you ok? You look like you've been crying…" I say. She shakes her head and her bottom lip trembles as more tears well in her eyes. She sobs and leans her head against my shoulder. I put my arm around her and look into her eyes,

"Rainbow Dash, what's the matter?" I ask. She takes a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes.

"Um…do you know about my parents?" she asks looking at me.

"No you've never mentioned them to me…" I say. She grabs my hooves,

"You have to promise me you will never tell anyone…" she says with a hiccup.

"I promise" I say. She smiles and clears her throat.

"Um well when I was younger, I lost my mother...it was a fire. My parents owned a small cabin out in the middle of nowhere. One night when I was just a filly, before flight school, there was a fire. It had been windy and one of the windows wasn't closed. It blew embers into the main room and the place quickly burst into flames. My father grabbed me and pulled me outside. But the hallway to my parents room was blocked. My mother was trapped inside and we couldn't get to her. I ran in, trying to save her but inhaled too much smoke and passed out. The next thing I knew, was waking up in the hospital with only my father left." She says, her voice cracking as she starts to sob again. I lean over and hug her tightly, patting her mane as I do so. She rests her head on my shoulder again and sighs, taking a few more deep breaths.

"Once I was discharged from the hospital, my father changed. I think it was the stress of work and the trip was gonna help him relax. But then mom died and I think it broke him. He started drinking. The alcohol changed him, made him angry. The blamed me for my mothers death. Said it was my job to close the window. He became less tolerant and drank more as time went on. One day, when he found out I had failed one of my math classes, he hit me. From that point on, whenever I angered him, he would hit me. When I dropped out of cloudsdale flight school, he lost it. He screamed and threw stuff. He claimed that I was dead to him that if he ever saw me again, he would kill me. That I would never live in his house again. He called me a dirty Filly Fooler. " She says with racking sobs, "I ran away, got a job in ponyville and never saw him again."

She brandishes the letter and unfolds it with shaking hooves. I steady her hooves with my own,

"Today I received this letter, it's from my father. He says that he wants to see me and talk." She says, her voice coming out choked. I stare at her, at a loss for words. (How the hell can all this happen to somepony without them losing it?)

"What should I do EKey?" she asks. Holding my arm. I sit there blankly, trying to register what she's saying. She looks directly into my eyes, "I'm scared…" she says

I hug her tightly,

"Rainbow Dash I promise you, I won't let him hurt you. In any way." She sniffles and burrows her head into my shoulder and hugs me back. I pat her back in a comforting way, or at least try. She pulls away from me,

"So what should I do EKey?" she asks.

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but I have no idea." I say. She nods and then breaks down crying again.

"EKey can I please have some time alone?" she asks between sobs. I nod and kiss her forehead gently, then go upstairs into my bedroom. I sit there, staring blankly at my wall. The only thing going through my head is sadness for everything Rainbow Dash's been through. I sit there for what could be hours, days, weeks, months, I don't know, I simply sit there, listening to my clock tick and Rainbow Dash's sobs downstairs.

Eventually, I feel a pair of hooves drape over my shoulders and a head snuggles against my shoulder blades.

"Thank you" I hear Rainbow Dash murmur as she kisses the back of my head. I turn around and kiss her gently. She smiles and starts to blush. I look outside, it's barely dark but I'm tired as all hell. I lie down and Rainbow Dash snuggles into me her head nuzzled against my neck. I kiss the top of her head gently and wrap my arms around her. She closes her eyes with a sigh as I pull the blankets over the two of us.

"I love you Rainbow Dash" I murmur as I close my eyes.

_Toronto Canada: 9:23 am, Queen Street._

The man sits back down on his corner of the street and resumes his mournful song,

"Even heroes die,

Even heroes lie,

For in the battle against gods,

No one will live."

He then coughs and holds out his cup, asking for spare change, or some food.

**End of Chapter 1**

**Authors notes:** Well it's been two months since the last chapter. But I broke down and decided to rewrite it (and even formatted it!) when I received a message from Locoattack1. So here you go, the first chapter of the second part of the Equestria Key's story. Chapter 2 will come soon…maybe tomorrow…or not.


	2. Chapter 2

The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord

_By Anunymau5_

Chapter 2: A story is revealed.

_Toronto Canada, 9:45 pm, Queen st._

The man stretches his bad leg out in front of him and then closes his eyes. He quickly hears a voice in his head,

"how are you doing?"

"Surviving.." He says.

"Discord is free…" Says the voice.

"Oh..god…what happened?" he asks.

"when Rainbow Dash's heart stopped, her hold on the Elements was shattered for a brief period. He used that chance to break loose. Killed 3 guards in the way." Says the voice.

"Hmm, so what are you gonna do Princess?"

"I'm gonna have to send EKey after him."

"Ill try to keep an eye on him for you."

"Thank you and ill talk to you again, when there's any news."

"Goodbye Princess Celestia…"He says and then looks down the street, "I was right about all hell breaking loose…"

_Equestria, outside of Ponyville, 9:45 am._

I sit there eating cereal, when Rainbow Dash shuffles in yawning.

"Morning Dashie." I say, she mumbles something in agreement and pours herself a bowl of cereal. Then sits down and slowly munches away on it. I finish my breakfast in silence and put away my dishes, keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash as I do so. She finishes her bowl and walks over to the sink, tripping on the floor as she does so. She yawns again, and sways where she stands. Then mumbles something again and slowly walks back upstairs. I follow her quietly, watching her as she slowly stumbles up the stairs. I continue after her back into the bedroom,

"Dashie?" I ask as she sways there staring at my bed. She shakes her head a few times and looks back at me,

"Oh sorry EKey…I'm just feeling tired. It's been a hard couple of days." She says with a small smile. I walk over and pick up the letter from her father,

"So any ideas?" I ask,

"I still don't know what to do…" She says with her shoulders sagging. I sit down on the bed and rub my temples. Suddenly there's a huge flash of light! Rainbow Dash jumps and I bolt downstairs. Standing in my living room is Princess Luna! She walks over to me with a smile on her face,

"Greetings Equestria Key! How are you on this grand afternoon!" she yells. I jump back, startled by her tone,

"Um ok I guess." I reply.

"That is truly grand! I'm afraid that I need you to come with me!" she yells, "Princess Celestia needs to talk to you!"

"Ok when are we leaving?" I ask.

"Right now…oh Greetings Rainbow Dash!" She says to Rainbow Dash who just poked her head out from upstairs. She yawns and mumbles hi.

"Well you appear to be tired! Do you want to be put under a sleeping spell?" asks Princess Luna. She pauses as if trying to figure out what to say,

"Um…It doesn't really matter, Well I don't have work today. So…well…Ok I guess…" she says and then yawns again. Princess Luna's horn glows and Rainbow Dash's eyes close. She then sways and starts to fall over, only to be lifted gently by Luna's magic. She then floats back upstairs and I can hear faint snoring. A few seconds later, Luna turns back to me,

"Now are you ready Equestria Key?" she asks.

"Sure" I say as I grab my coat…or Zecora's coat. Her horn glows and once again, I fell like I'm falling, only to find myself in a forest. Standing in front of me is Princess Celestia,

"Good to see you EKey." She says with a smile. I smile back, "hi Princess."

"So how have things been since we last talked?" she asks.

"Good, I haven't had the crazy nightmares like before." I reply, "But I keep having dreams about this man back home and the thing that caused my break down."

"Hmm…a man back on earth." She pauses, "what did he look like?"

"He had a bunch of rotten clothes, longish brown hair, beard, rotten hat. He also sat on the corner of a street." I pause trying to think of what else could describe him, "He also sounded like my vessel…"

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by sounded like your vessel?" Asks Princess Celestia. I proceed to tell her about how when the giant creature attacked, I passed out and had the conversation in my head. I also told her about when it happened during my break down. Her eyes go from puzzled to worried as I finish my story,

"Hmm…well I don't know how exactly you are able to communicate with your vessel, or how your vessel is capable of independent thought for that matter. But I would simply regard them as dreams, nothing more than a manifestation of the subconscious." She says and starts to walk through the woods. I follow after her,

"So Princess where are we?" I ask.

"The Everfree forest." She says, "I wanted to talk to you and go for a walk at the same time."

"Oh ok…" I say as I walk beside her with Luna trailing behind me. After about an hour of walking (occasionally making comments on the wildlife but nothing else) she turns to me,

"So you and Rainbow Dash," she says.

(Oh god…)

"Yeah?" I reply half blushing.

"I was just commenting, that's all…I didn't think you two would hook up," She says, "Well actually that's not true. It's just surprising is all." She stops walking and looks down at a crater in the woods,

"You see that?" she asks, gesturing to the crater.

"Yeah? What about it?" I ask.

"You don't recognize this place?" she says.

"No…not really.."

"this is where you woke up. From here you went towards Zecora's hut."

"Wait this is where I first woke up? How do you know that?" I ask.

"Your magic leaves a unique residue. It makes you easy to track. Which is why I have to warn you, once the outside world learns about you, many different creatures will want you for your power. They will come after you. I need you to stay on your toes." She says. I gulp.

"There is another thing," she says turning to me with her horn glowing, "We need to go back to the castle."

Suddenly I am engulfed in light again and open my eyes to see myself in a garden. Princess Celestia turns to me again,

"Now EKey, do you know where we are?"

"The Canterlot Royal Garden?"

"Correct. Do you know what's normally supposed to be here?"

"No" I reply. She frowns.

"Discord in his frozen state is normally supposed to be here." She says, "But I'm afraid he has escaped."

"How?" I ask.

"When Rainbow Dash's heart stopped…Didn't I already tell you that?"

"Oh yeah…" I say scratching the back of my head. She gives me a worried smile,

"Well I don't know how long it will be until hes powerful enough to attack. He's very weak since he used all of his remaining power to break free when his curse was weakened. In the meantime however, I will be searching this world for his magic. That will show he's nearby. Then we will see how well your training is going." She says, "I suppose I will let you go back home now...This was a nice chat EKey."

I say goodbye and head towards Princess Luna when I hear a voice behind me,

"Oh and Ekey, don't get to close with Rainbow Dash. I would hate to see her devastated if something happened." She calls out. I'm filled with dread and finish my walk over to Luna in silence.

"Well ready to go home?" she says.

"er yeah..." I say.

"Hey I'm sorry about my older sister, she has a habit of stating things at the wrong time." she says comfortingly then raises her horn and teleports me back to my house.

I open my eyes to find myself in my living room, up stairs I can still hear a faint snoring. I slowly tiptoe...or tiphoof upstairs, I look into my bedroom to find Rainbow Dash sleeping there hugging a pillow tightly with a small smile. I grin and turn off the light. Then head back downstairs.

I sit on my floor, letting Celestia's words repeat themselves in my head. (I would hate it for her to be traumatized if anything happened...does this mean I might die?...agh soo much stress! Wheres my mp3 player?) I pick it up from my living room and start to play angry birds.

**Top Scores:**

-Rainbow Dash: 150,000,572

-Rainbow Dash: 125,666,001

-Rainbow Dash: 147,923090

-EKey: 23,348

(Shit..) I think as I start to try to beat the game. Only to find that Rainbow Dash already has. (dammmit...) I sigh and put down my mp3 player, rubbing my temples again. I look over at my dining room table, on it is my laptop. I turn it on and start to watch old star trek episodes.

About half an hour later, I hear footsteps and hear yawning. I look over and Rainbow Dash shuffles into my room, pushing her mane out of her eyes and scratching the back of her head. She's wearing a pair of pale green pajamas with blue buttons and its cute to the point of I have to stop myself from grabbing her and potentially devouring her. She pulls at the pajamas a little and blushes,

"yeah I woke up with these on..." she says.

"well they're incredibly cute..." I reply with a smile. She looks at them,

"well they are comfy, but they are too...I don't know, maybe if I got a wonderbolts patch...or something." she says and sits down beside me. I put my arm around her shoulders and she leans against me,

"So Dashie, feeling better?" I ask. She nods and rests her head on my chest. I smile,

"So whaddya want to do?" I ask.

"I don't know...relax?" she asks. I burst out laughing,

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Ok!" she says and runs over to my TV. She then open my movie collection and starts to look through them...

"Hmm whats Indiana Jones?" she asks. I pause, realizing that she will love the series!

"You know Daring Do?" I ask.

"Of course! Shes the best pegasus ever! Except the wonderbolts of course." she says.

"Its my worlds version of Daring Do" I say, walking over and hiding my copy of tomb raider. (please god don't let her find that movie...it's sooo bad!)

I put is on and she sits down on the couch with a huge grin on her face. I sit down beside her and press play. We then watch most of the movie in silence, but when Indiana Jones jumps on a horse, she pauses the movie.

"Um...what is that?" she asks puzzled.

"That's a horse.." I reply.

"So like an earth pony?" she asks.

"Yeah...my worlds version of earth ponies, besides actual ponies." I reply.

"Wow...they're...so...UGLY!" she says laughing, "those are the ugliest animals I have ever seen! Are they smart?" she asks.

"no...they're a form of transportation and manual labor." I reply with a grin.

"REALLLY! Oh man! They are ugly And DUMB!" she says howling with laughter.

She then presses play and watches the rest of the movie. Afterwards, she turns to me,

"well that was pretty good! I think I like Daring Do more then Indiana Jones though." she says.

That night, I climb into my bed and Rainbow Dash curls up next to me, still giggling about the horses.

_Toronto Canada, 9:45 am, Queen st._

The man holds his head in pain as the tentacled pony dances in his mind.

"just give up...it will be easier if you let me control him!"

"no...I told the princess I would help him.."

"yeah the princess doesn't care about you, why else would she lie about your existence to him?"

"she needed to protect him..from both of us..."

"yeah except she can't do anything about me. She thinks I'm powerless after breaking free. It's her fault she can't open her eyes and see whats going on around her."

"go away damn you..."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"I said I would help him, now go away."

"Why would you help him? He's gonna die anyways."

"No he's not..."

"Oh stop lying to yourself, you and I both know the Equestria Key will die. It's simply a matter of waiting."

"go away..." says the man as he starts to weep.

**End of Chapter 2**

**Authors Notes: **Well another Chapter done. I don't really know what to say...but the pajamas are a slight reference to the Fanfic in which Rainbow Dash gets pegapox...I think it's called Dashes, Dots, and Pegasus Spots. Yeah that's the name...go search it up or whatever.


	3. Chapter 3

The Equestria Key: Shadow Of Discord

By Anunymau5

**Chapter 3: Discording Discord**

_Toronto Canada, 5:56 pm, Queen St._

The man huddles under a doorway. The entrance for a local opera house in fact. Hoping that the music would drown out the voices. It didn't work but he decided to stay there for the night. He closed his eyes,

"We have located Discord and are preparing to send out The Equestria Key." says one voice.

"Don't send out the Equestria Key! It's futile, Ill just kill him!"

"Go away both of you.." The man mumbles under his breath.

"He will stop you!" says the voice, "I have faith in him."

"Really? You have faith in him? Should I remind you as to what happened to the last soul who occupied the vessel?"

"This one is different, he's headstrong, and sarcastic, but his power is much higher than the last soul."

"Look anyone who simply blasts raw magic at their enemies is powerful."

"He has talent."

"No he doesn't...stop lying to yourself."

"He will stop you."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Both of you please go away!" the man yells.

"Alright" says the first voice.

"Nah I'm staying," Says the second voice.

The man holds his head and rocks back and forth in pain. As dancing tentacled ponies fill his mind.

_Equestria, Everfree Forest, 5:56 am._

"So why am I here exactly?" I ask to Princess Celestia as we walk through the woods. She remains silent and I turn to the mane six behind me and shrug. They look just as puzzled as I think I look. I turn back to Princess Celestia who pauses in the clearing from when I was training with Applejack and Big Macintosh. She stops and turns to us,

"I'm glad you have all arrived…" she begins,

"Yeah you dragged us out of our beds (in the middle of the night) and made us follow you in the forest for half an hour." I say with a groan. She frowns,

"I'm sorry for that but this is an emergency." She says, "We have located Discord. However, he is quickly regaining his power. As a result, we need to act now and attack him. You will be airlifted into a small forest outside of Marington where he is hiding. From there, you will sneak in two groups towards the center of the forest. He is hiding there, near where my sister used to hide when she was nightmare moon."

"Wait, so I'm being sent to the middle of the woods now?" I ask.

"Yes, you have one hour to get prepared and meet me outside of EKey's house." She says to all of us.

"So then why did you take us into the middle of the forest?" I ask.

"Discord has eyes everywhere…except here. I needed us to be somewhere that couldn't be traced."

"Oh alright…" I say, turning away from her and back along the trail. The others follow me as we walk back to our respective houses in silence. I yawn, wishing I had some coffee. I head inside my house and grab my coat, a black vest like thing, and a belt. I quickly summon some pouches and attach those along the sides of the belt. Then go through my drawers looking for some of my prototype weapons. Ground glass bags, homemade phosphorus bombs, a knife built for a hoof using a strap that wrapped around my arm, and some of my classic explosives. Being a pyromaniac back on earth had it's perks. I then stretch my neck and head back outside. I sit down on a stump and wait for everyone else.

About 10 minutes later, Rainbow Dash shows up, landing in front of me with a small thud. She's wearing a pair of saddlebags containing something that clangs. She has also decorated her face with some rainbow paint stuff.

"Er Dashie? What is that on your face?" I ask.

"Or some Rainbow Water. I'm using it as war paint!" She says brightly.

"You know this is a stealth mission right?" I say.

"And?" she asks.

"Well, why wear some brightly colored reflective fluid on your head in the woods? It's just asking for you to be found and honestly, seeing you dead would really be a downer." I say with a grin. She pauses, then shrugs and wipes it off.

"Yeah your probably right…" she says, "So nervous?"

"A little…I need to fight a demigod." I say. She walks over and hugs me, then kisses me on the nose,

"I'm sure you'll do fine." She says. I smile and kiss her back as Fluttershy and Rarity appear. Fluttershy is also carrying a saddlebag with a tent poking out of it and Rarity is wearing some big frilly hat. Soon after that, Applejack and Pinkie Pie show up. Applejck is wearing a saddlebag filled with what appears to be pots and pans, while Pinkie Pie's saddlebag is filled with what sounds like ducks. A few minutes later, Twilight appears in a slash of light alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia turns to us,

"Ok you will be divided into two teams, Team one will consist of EKey, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie. Team two will consist of Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity. Both teams will be dropped at two different sides of the forest, in order to make sure the most ground is covered in case he moves. Both teams will meet at the center for the battle against Discord. I have entrusted Princess Luna with the elements of harmony. EKey, you will be able to use your vessel to sense Discord when he is nearby. While Princess Luna has been trained to recognize his magic's frequency. You, combined with the elements will be able to easily destroy Discord." She then smiles, "Good luck everypony."

Two carriages then drop out of the sky, both piloted by guard Pegasi. I climb into the first one, along with the rest of my team. I then look over at Rainbow Dash sitting in the other carriage. I wave and she waves back, but she holding something. I squint my eyes and realize that she's holding my mp3 player! I pretend to pout and she sticks her tongue out at me. I grin as Princess Celestis walks over to me,

"Well EKey, here's your test. This will prove whether or not I made the right choice. Do not fail me." She says, "Oh and best of luck!"

I smile and say thanks as the carriage takes off. As the carriage lifts up, I close my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.

A while later, I am awakened as the carriage slows down. Twilight turns to me,

"Ok EKey, can you fly?" she asks me.

"No, but I can glide…" I reply.

"Alright, I'm gonna give Pinkie Pie a featherfall enchantment, while Fluttershy flies down. I'm gonna teleport down and you can glide. Does that work?" She asks.

"Yeah sure!" I reply as I readjust my vest and cloak in order to give myself more flexibility in flying. Her horn glows as she taps it on Pinkie Pie who then dives off of the carriage with a happy shout. Soon after, Fluttershy jumps off and starts to fly down. Twilight then turns to me with a small nod and vanishes in a flash of light. I stretch my wings, getting the feel for them, and then dive off.

Let me tell you right now, diving out of a carriage a few thousand feet in the air and expecting to glide down is probably the stupidest idea. Aside from covering a saucer sled in cooking oil and going down a hill. I quickly realize that the pouches on my belt aren't even and I keep getting pulled to the left. I decide to lean to the right to counterbalance myself put end up leaning to far and start to roll. I continue to roll and end up getting caught in a draft and start to spin out of control. As I spin faster and faster, my vision goes blurry and then fades to black…

…

I groan and roll onto my back, opening my eyes slowly as I do so. I look at the trench my crashing body created, still smoking and littered with smashed trees. I stand up, feeling something crunch. I then look down and disable the blue shimmering field around my body. This shield spell was helpful, it was a good thing I had remembered to activate it at the last second, or else I would have splattered like a watermelon. I check my pouches, trying to see if anything broke. I lost one phosphorus bomb and two of the ground glass pouches. The knife was still fine but the belt now had a large scratch on it. I look up, noticing that the sun is now close to setting, roughly 4:00 pm.

I decide to head north, on a whim. Then remember Princess Celestia telling me about being able to sense Discord. I close my eyes and try to "sense" him. At first there is nothing, but then a slow painful pulse fills my head and it appears to be coming from the left. I follow it and walk deeper and deeper into the woods.

After a while of walking, I find myself starting to get bored and wish I had my mp3 player. (But if I summon it, Rainbow Dash will get pissed!) I simply shake my head and start to look at my surroundings, noticing the faint howling noises and the leaves rustling. I continue to look around, hoping to find signs of the rest of my team when I walk into something or someone!

I turn around and find myself staring into a pair of pure white eyes. (Oh fuck…is that a zombie pony?) I back up as it hisses and twists its neck. It then takes a step back and stares at me. I get back to my feet as it slowly circles me, making a low guttural sound. I pause, with my hoof slowly reaching for my knife when it pounces on me! I get knocked to the ground as the creature tries to bite at me. I ready my shockwave spell and let loose knocking it away into the bushes! I stand up again and grab my knife as it leaps for me again! I swing my knife in front of me and it lands on the blade with a wet splooching noise. It then twitches for a brief second and falls limp. I then pull the creature off my knife and start to sheath it, only to hear more hissing noises behind me. I turn around to see pair after pair of pale eyes appear in the bushes,

"OH SHITTTTT!" I yell as I run like I'm on fire! The creatures follow me quickly, leaping from tree to tree like deranged monkeys! I jump down a small ledge and find myself sliding along the rocks, creating a small avalanche, which crushes a few zombie ponies that jump out at the bottom of the hill. I reach the bottom as well and break out in a dead sprint, weaving in and out between the trees, the zombies continue to chase me! I run forwards and jump over a small log, rolling onto my back as I do so. The zombies leap out at me and time seems to slow down as I hit each of them with my shockwave spell! I then ready my explosion spell and fire that at a crowd of them, which jump out at me from a nearby tree! The resulting explosion knocks me back several feet but destroys the rest of them. I stand up, hearing nothing but the crackling of the burning trees around me and the sound of branches crashing to the ground. I hear a faint hissing and look over at a legless zombie slowly trying to crawl towards me; I raise my knife and quickly decapitate it. A fountain of black fluid sprays into the air as its body falls over. I try to give the bodies the finger but remember I have hooves.

(Shit…)

I stretch out my back and shake the gravel from my mane. Then I locate discord again and continue towards him, pausing to wash the black goo off of me in a nearby stream.

About another hour later, I notice a faint glow in the distance; I slowly creep towards it and realize it's a campfire! I then walk towards it slowly, trying to make out any shapes. At first I don't see any, but then sitting at the corner, it a pony! I sneak up on it, trying to figure out who it is. (Wings, tall, a horn, wait Princess Luna? Oh shit..) I think as I walk into the clearing. She looks up alarmed, then calms when she recognizes me,

"EKey, what are you doing here?" she asks puzzled.

"I spun out of control when I was gliding down and lost my team." I reply sheepishly. She smiles,

"I see, hmm well I suppose you can stay here tonight and I'll send you in their direction tomorrow. However, you will have to get up early in order to meet them before they set out."

"Ok thanks.." I reply as I sit next to the fire. I look over to my left and notice a small cluster of tents. I then go back to the fire as it pops and an ember flies onto my leg,

"Ow shit!" I yell, brushing off the ember.

"Hello?" asks a faint raspy voice in one of the tents, "EKey?"

"He's out here" says Princess Luna. I hear a tent unzip and then a cyan Pegasus tackles me into the ground! I lie back with Rainbow Dash on top of me, hugging me tightly. Her face buried into my chest,

"I was so worried!" she says muffled, "When I heard about your crash, I thought you were a goner!" she hugs me tighter and I kiss the top of her head. She grins and continues to lie on top of me, I lean back and stroke her mane gently,

"So what happened?" she asks. I tell her about the zombie ponies and getting lost. Her eyes go from worried, to excited, to concerned.

"You didn't get bit, did you?" she asks, "Cuz you know what they say about zombie bites…"

"Don't worry, I wasn't bit." I reply. She smiles and lies back on top of me, however a rock ends up digging into my shoulder and I sit up. I look over at Princess Luna who has been staring off into the woods,

"Hey, is everything ok?" I ask. She jumps,

"Oh no I just thought I saw something." She says.

"Oh ok…" I reply, I look over at Rainbow Dash who's yawning,

"Tired?" I ask.

"A bit..I think I'm gonna go to sleep." She says and starts to walk to her tent. Then she turns and faces me,

"Come on EKey?" She says motioning for me, "It's not like you have a tent or anything, you'll have to share with me!"

I follow her into the tent, leaving my cloak and weapons outside. I climb in and Rainbow Dash is lying there, already half asleep. I lie down next to her and she snuggles into my arms, puling the sleeping bag over the two of us as she does so. I close my eyes and she rests her head half on the pillow, half on my neck. She then falls asleep. Soon after, so do I.

…

I wake up to Princess Luna who puts a hoof over my lips and motions for me to come outside. I untangle myself from Rainbow Dash who murmurs and curls up again and then climb out of the tent into the barely risen sun. Princess Luna turns to me outside,

"Ok, the other camp is about 3 hours that way." She says, motioning to the left of me. I nod and put on my coat, vest, belt, and weapons. I then turn back to her,

"Thanks for your help Princess." I say, "and please stay safe."

"I will," she replies. I then turn towards the direction she motioned and start to walk into the forest.

"Wait!" I hear a voice behind me yell. I turn around to be hugged by Rainbow Dash,

"You didn't say goodbye.." she says,

"Sorry Dashie." I say and kiss her. She blushes,

"There's one other thing," she says and holds out my mp3 player, "can you recharge it?"

I laugh and charge it with my magic. She then takes it back and smiles,

"Stay safe." I say and head back into the woods.

…

Two hours later, I am picking myself through another goddamned thorny bush. I turn a corner only to find myself face to face with another hissing zombie pony,

"Fuck off." I say as I blast it in the face with my shockwave spell. The creature gets impaled on a tree branch where it twitches and then falls still. I sigh and continue in the direction Princess Luna pointed out. After walking for a few minutes, I end up hearing voices and seeing another campfire. I run towards it, bursting into another clearing where my team is. Twilight is reading, Fluttershy is making some dish, and Pinkie Pie is tying balloons to a small collection of rubber ducks. I laugh and they all jump, surprised to see me. Twilight runs over,

"EKey! It's so good to see you! We were so worried when we saw you spiral out of control!" she says happily. Fluttershy looks over at me and smiles while Pinkie Pie bounces around talking about…something. I sit down next to their campfire while Twilight talk about the rest of the plan,

"Ok EKey, we are going to be at the center of the forest in roughly three hours. From that point, we will meet up with the other team and fight Discord. We will use the elements of harmony to distract Discord while you destroy him. Understand?" she asks.

"Yep!" I reply. Twilight smiles and I help them pack their stuff. We end up setting out again, using my ability to sense Discord as a compass. As we go deeper into the woods, I start to notice more of Discord's magic. First it was nothing, just small things like small collections of floating rocks. Then it became more obvious we were close, things like the grass slowly fading into solid rock with mirror like lines of crystal growing through it. Trees slowly vanished and were replaced with mud replicas, wobbling but retaining their shape. After that the bushes and all plant life vanished, replaced with large spikes of crystal and shards of rock. Sticking out of the ground like the back of a porcupine. I look to my side and see creatures slinking between the rocks I raise my arm put Twilight puts her hoof on her lips and motions forwards. I lower my arm and we proceed forwards in silence. Finally after traversing through the rocks, we enter a clearing. Sitting in a strange looking throne is Discord himself lounging in his chair with the other team floating in the air behind him. I grin and narrow my eyes as he looks lazily at us,

"Gotcha…" I mutter as my arm starts to glow. Back in Toronto, the man shakes his head,

"He has no idea what he's getting into."

**End of Chapter 3**

**Authors Notes: **Well good news, I finally got my ipod back which means getting these chapter out will be much easier. Also, the circle sled comment is both a reference to Christmas Vacation and Locoattack1's A New World 2: Nightmares. Google them both if you haven't yet. Well I'm gonna go watch Donnie Darko…chapter 4 comes out tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

By: Anunymau5

Chapter 4: Humans, Spirits, and swords. 

I hit the ground with a thud, hoping the crunch my body makes isn't as bad as it sounds. I groan and get back shakily to my feet as Discord stares lazily at me,

"You know EKey. The first time that vessel was active, I was too weak to fight it. Yes the being trapped in stone part didn't help but I was still too weak. But now I'm winning! Which means either, I'm more powerful, or you suck at fighting. Odd are it's the latter." he says as he throws me into another wall. I stand up again and wipe some blood away from my mouth,

"You say your more powerful? Look at yourself, you haven't left you chair since the battle started!" I yell as I grasp my sword and face him.

_10 minutes Earlier: _

I walk towards Discord, keeping an eye on the other team floating behind them. He narrows his eyes and leans back in his throne as I raise my hoof and aim it at his throat,

"My, my aren't you the violent type?" he muses with a sadistic grin. Then lifts a finger and sends me flying backwards. Turning to the rest of the team, he gestures to me,

"This is what you sent? A weak unstable soul? He has no magical talent, he can't fly, and he's in love with something that's not even the same species as him!" he yells with glee, "I'd ask him to join me if I didn't hate him so much." his arm lowers as he remembers they can't hear him.

I honestly don't know what he did. All I know is that it made them sort of...well different. They all went limp and then floated behind him. They were floating as though they were underwater. I fire my shock wave spell at him but he just blocks it! Then throws me against another wall.

"Ow fuck off!" I yell. He grins, his fangs almost glowing as he raises his hand again. I close my eyes, getting ready for more pain but find myself floating slowly. I open them and realize if about 4 inches away from Discord who's regarding me lazily,

"You bug me. The other elements also bug me. This whole world bugs me. Which is why it's my job to fix it. Implanting eyes, changing physics, it's all very complicated and I certainly don't want to bore you with the details. But there is one very important point, getting rid of road blocks." he murmurs quietly then reaches his hand/claw around my throat. As he begins to squeeze, he chuckles,

"You EKey, are a roadblock." he says as my vision starts to blur. I slowly raise my hoof, noticing how it keeps pulling out of focus, and fire my shock wave spell! It throws me out of his grasp and headfirst into a rock! I hear a loud crunch and pass out!

...

I'm standing as a human before my stallion body. It sighs and walks towards me,

"Look this really isn't the time!" I yell. It grins,

"relax, time doesn't really have any meaning here. I suppose if you waited long enough, time would pass. But once this conversation is over, you wont have even hit the ground yet!" he says.

"well what do you want?" I ask.

"well technically I'm not allowed to do this. Goes against my contract and also can damage reality. But that's not important." he says.

"wait what contract?" I ask.

"Never mind that. Look you're getting your ass kicked and he still hasn't left his chair. So I'm just gonna make some small modifications here and allow you to turn into a human. Your magic will be different along with your speed and strength both being increased by literal orders of magnitude. Simply because this world is incapable of handling humans. Something about an anomaly, which is why physics are a bit different. I don't mean anti gravity or crap like that. I just mean being able to reach extreme speeds while running and really crazy reflexes. You will also need a sword. Hmm...what about that one you drew back in grade 8? That one was pretty cool! Ill give you that one! Oh and clothes and stuff. Well I suppose I could just modify your current stuff. Or maybe, you know what? Just get out there, I've got everything figured out. Well kinda." he finishes with a sweep of his arm. I pause with my mouth hanging open (a human again? With hands? I can play video games? And type?) I smile as he turns to me again.

"Oh but judging by your souls capabilities, you will only be able to keep your human form for about 20 minutes before your soul starts to fragment. Should have told you that earlier.." he mutters.

(always a catch...) I think as I shake my head in bewilderment. He closes his eyes and his body starts to glow. Then it stops,

"Ok your ready." he says.

I open my eyes and stand up. My entire (human) body bristling with energy. I look down at the strange sword in my left hand. Its pretty much a bladed rectangle with no point. It has a small guard and is only sharp on one side and the top. I spin it a few times, trying to get the feel. Then I remember Discord. I turn to him,

"Like what you see?" I ask with a smirk. He blinks a few times and then snaps his fingers. Several zombie ponies (by several I mean about 15) jump out of the surrounding area and circle me. I switch hands and get ready.

The first one jumps at me and I leap to my side! Straight into another one! This one opens its mouth but gets the flat top of my sword as its meal. The blade slices off the entire top of its head and it falls over. I bring the sword around, catching two other ones in the process. Cutting off the legs of the first and the second ones head! The others ones all run at me and I quickly start to dispatch them. I get used to the swords feel, noticing that it's built for one handed combat. Normally a shield would be in the other hand but I have magic instead. I fire my first spell, it's a beam that cuts down two more zombie ponies and also burns a hole through one of the rocks!

I grin and run at Discord, who simply shakes his head and flings me back into the wall! He and his throne then float up, and land with a small thud a few hundred feet away. He raises his claw and clenches it,

"Let's see how you can handle this! Equestria Key!" he yells as zombie Ponies come up out of the ground all around him! I grab my sword and swing it lazily. Then bolt for him!

I reach faster and faster speeds as I head for him, veering in between the zombies and rocks. As he gets closer, I try to come with an idea on how to fight him. (nah Ill just wing it!) Time slows, as he gets closer. Every footstep leaving small impact lines. I watch his arm slowly raise as I bring my sword in front of me.

Its almost frame by frame now. My heartbeat seems to get louder as my sword slowly slices through the air! Leaving a wave like trail behind it! It heads toward his blue arm. Wait Discord has a purple arm! OH FUCK IT'S RAINBOW DASH! Time jumps back to its normal speed as I stop swinging, the sword only millimetres from her chest. Her eyes are still closed as Discord smiles,

"Thought she was the right one. Hmm well you got pretty close there." he says with a chuckle.

"Dashie please wake up right now!" I say with clenched teeth. He laughs as he shakes her limp body back and forth,

"She can't wake up. Unless I tell her to of course." he says as he raises his claw and throws me into another rock.

"you know EKey. The first time that vessel was active, I was too weak to fight it. Yes the being trapped in stone part didnt help but I was still too weak. But now I'm winning! Which means either, I'm more powerful, or you suck at fighting. Odd are it's the latter." he says as he throws me into another wall. I stand up again and wipe some blood away from my mouth,

"you say your more powerful? Look at yourself, you havent left you chair since the battle started!" I yell as I grasp my sword and face him. He chuckles and pulls Princess Luna down towards himself. Her one saddle bag opens and a collection of gold objects float out. Its the elements of harmony! He grabs them and looks at them puzzled,

"I wonder if this would work?" he muses as the elements begin to glow. I gulp as they surround him,

"You don't represent any of the elements! How could they work!" I yell.

"I'm Discord...the spirit of chaos!" he yells back laughing as his body glows. I groan, trying to think of what to do. (I could try to hit him...) I fire my beam spell but it just reflects off of him! He laughs, his voice sounding distorted by the energy field around him.

Lightning sparks off of him as he cackles with glee,

"HAHA I am finally in power!" he yells as he starts to throw me around. I hit the ground hard, cutting up my one arm and hitting my head. My vision gets blurry and everything starts to echo as I stand up. He floats upwards and points both his hands at me,

"lets see what my new power is like EKey!" he yells as a ball of energy builds at his palms and starts to grow. (fuck my life...) I think as I swing my sword in front of me and run at him. The ball grows bigger and gold lightning sparks off of it. He laughs,

"Die Equestria Key! Die and be forgotten!" he screams. Suddenly the lightning turns red! He looks puzzled as the red lightning sparks all over him. I stop and watch the gold field around him slowly turn red. His eyes widen as the sphere changes colour to red and starts to spin in the other direction. He drops his hands and the sphere slowly spins towards him! I dive for cover behind one of the spikes as it erupts!

The grounds shakes as everything around me glows red for a second! Then it stops, I get up from behind the rocks and see what happened. Discord is lying on the ground, with scorch marks all over him! The elements are now floating in the air as he climbs to his feet. He sees me and his eyes narrow. He walks towards me, breaking off one of the smaller spikes and using it as a makeshift sword. I back up, grabbing my sword and getting into a defensive stance. He then charges at me, his eyes filled with hate! I block his first three strikes but then he kicks my hand and knocks my sword away! I grab my second smaller sword, normally made for a hoof but I put my hand in the slot and block his next strike. I swing at him but he catches the blade and grabs me by the hair,

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" He screams as he throws me to the ground! I swing my sword but miss! He kicks me and grabs me by the arm, his claws digging gashes into me. He leans close to me,

"I am going to kill you right here...right now!" he hisses. I put my palm against his chest,

"Fuck..off.." I groan as I hit him with my beam spell! It punches a hole in his side as he falls back screaming! He then lifts me with magic and slams me into the ground! He starts to speak, his words punctuated by me hitting the ground,

"Why. Wont. You. Die?" he yells. Suddenly there's a flash of light behind him! He jumps and turns around, behind him is the mane six with their elements! I grin at the look on his face. He turns to me and grabs me, holding me in front of them,

"If you attack me, I'll kill him!" he screams. I look at Twilight,

"Twilight get ready to trap him now!" I yell as I drive my elbow into his side. He screams and his grip loosens, allowing me time to turn and slash at his face with my smaller sword. He falls back yelling as the air behind me explodes in a rainbow! I throw myself behind a rock spike, as Twilight fires her elements of harmony spell!

Discord turns to me as the spell hits him. His body slowly turning to stone as he reaches for me,

"Why can't I kill you?" he asks as his head turns to stone. Suddenly it gets quiet. I stand up and put my palm against his chest,

"Goodbye Discord." I say as I fire my shock wave spell. Shattering his stone body! As the shards hit the ground, a new spell pops into my head. Well sort of a spell/idea hybrid. I raise my hand, using the same tactics as the lightning spell but channel my energy into the ground. I snap my fingers and the ground around Discords shards erupts in an explosion! I turn around as a sky high beam of energy shoots out of the ground, vaporizing anything inside of it!

I sigh once the smoke clears and sit down. Behind me, I hear the elements powering down and cheers. I stand up with a smile when suddenly I hear a distorted cracking sound! I fall over as my entire body screams in pain. I look at my hands which flicker between intact and lined with thin cracks! I hold my head and groan as my eyes fill with what appears to be a combination of a bubbling sound and cracking! I hear shouts and see the mane six with Princess Luna running towards me. I groan and lie on my back, feeling a sharp prickling feeling run all over my body. I sigh and crack my neck as another wave of pain builds up.

Suddenly everything goes white and I'm standing in the infinite blackness. My pony body shakes his head,

"Don't worry, you're fine. You just overexerted your soul and cracked it a bit. A few more minutes and you would have been in trouble." he says.

"So then what happens?" I ask.

"You give yourself a few days for your soul to heal and you will be fine. Oh and I found out what caused your breakdown!" he says.

"Well what was it?" I ask.

"Discord. He has somehow been sapping your power in order to recover faster. It was an attempt to stop you before he returned. It did however have some strange effects. No matter, he's gone and everyone is safe." he says.

"So now what?" I ask.

"Now you wake up back in your vessel." he says.

I open my eyes and notice everypony else getting back to their feet. I groan as I sit up, quickly getting used to hooves again. Rainbow Dash looks up and runs over to me. She hugs me but then lets go when she hears me gasp in pain! She pauses and looks at me,

"Hey..." she says quietly. I laugh,

"Hey," I reply, then I turn to the others who are cheering for joy! Even Fluttershy! I laugh and join them. "Whoa EKey! That was awesome!"

"Yeah!"

"And then you blew him up! And I was all like whoaaaahhh and then there was a fire! Ooh have you seen a campfire? I love campfires! You can eat marshmallows! Now I want marshmallows!"

"That was truly amazing"

"Nice going EKey!"

I laugh, "well I couldn't have done it if not for you guys."

"Aww"

"I'm Gonna throw a no more Discord Party!"

We joke and laugh as we walk away from the blast zone. I look over at Princess Luna who is stuffing something in her bag. She looks up at me with a smile,

"I can't believe you did it." she says.

"You and me both." I reply. She smiles and trots ahead to the rest of the group leaving me near the smoking crater. I turn to it, (well goodbye Discord. The fandom will never hear your voice again.) I then run back to the group.

Two hours later, we are at Twilight's old camp, by this point, its now dusk and we are tired. Pinkie Pie flops on the ground huffing and puffing. Applejack starts to put food on plates while I help Twilight and Rarity set up the tents. We joke and quickly finish the tent, then return to where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had finished the fire. Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna came back soon after with some edible greens they had found. They tasted like ass. The others seemed to like them though. I did however enjoy Applejacks food. Apple pie is good. Finally, we end up sitting around the fire, telling ghost stories. I tell them one which I repeatedly forget and end up screwing up. Twilight tells us the logic behind ghost stories. Pinkie Pie tells us...a story. Applejack tells a very good one but I don't understand most of the references. Rainbow Dash tells a slightly altered version of the shining. (she changed the names and the characters to ponies) and Rarity tells us about a ghost fashion model or something. Fluttershy mumbles something and Princess Luna just listens. Besides, for a while she was a ghost story! Soon the fire dies down and the ponies decide to go to sleep. Soon all that is left is me and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey...aren't you tired?" I ask. Rainbow Dash looks up at me from where she was pawing the ground,

"Was that your human form?" she asks quietly.

"Um yeah...why is that bad?" I ask.

"No...its just different, seeing you like that." she says quietly,

"Is something the matter?" I ask.

"No..I'm just tired and confused." she says, "you were impressive with that sword. Not as good as the wonderbolts though."

I laugh and lean back, noticing the unnerving crunch my ribs make. Rainbow Dash also notices it and runs over to me, putting her one hoof on my chest gently,

"Are you hurt!" she asks, her eyes widening.

"A bit, I think he broke a few of my ribs or something." I say with another wince.

"Do you need to go to the hospital or something?" she asks.

"I will when we get back to Ponyville." I say, readjusting myself so it doesn't hurt as much. Rainbow Dash then runs to her tent and comes back with some patch thing. She pulls off a lining on the one side and puts the patch on my chest,

"Here," she says, "This should help. I always carry a few in case I crash. They help with the pain and speed up the healing process. However in your case, you will still most likely need to go to the doctors."

I sigh as my chest slowly stops aching. She smiles and yawns,

"Well I'm done playing Doctor. Time to sleep." she says as she pulls me to my feet and we walk back to the tent. I lie down on my back and Rainbow Dash lies down next to me with her arms around me. I lean my head against hers and we fall asleep.

_Toronto Canada, 11:45 am._

The man stands up and does a little dance,

"He beat him!" he yells at passerby's. He smiles and sits back down. Suddenly a voice pops in his head,

"Well what happened?"

"The Equestria Key won."

"Good." says the voice, "I must get a celebration prepared."

"Have fun." says the man. Suddenly he holds his head in pain as the Tentacled Pony pops into his head,

"You know, he only destroyed my body. I'm still around. In both of your heads."

**End of Chapter 4**

**Authors notes**: I decided to rewrite this chapter. The original battle was a paragraph long and didn't make any sense at all. Well Discord is stopped and theres two left. Next chapter is gonna be interesting...


	5. Chapter 5

**Ekey: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 5: Partys, siblings, and a bunch of angry ponies!

_Equestria, In the forest._

I wake up to birds and sun. I blink a few times and roll over to find Rainbow Dash snuggled into me with a smile. She wakes up and yawns,

"Morning Ekey." she says with a smile.

We then eat breakfast together in my tent while making sure to get crumbs everywhere to bug Rarity. After eating, Twilight calls us out.

We climb out, pack up and continue towards the outskirts of the forest. At the edge, Princess Luna's horn glows and the Carriages appear. We all climb in, paying no mind to any other groups as we continued chatting. I sit down in the back seat, with Rainbow Dash beside me and Pinkie Pie beside her. In front of us is Princess Luna and Fluttershy. The others have crammed themselves into the other cart. The carts lift off and I feel a throbbing on my left side. I look down there – there's a big but half healed gash on my side. Along with my damaged ribs and cuts on my arm, I look like I survived being hit by a truck. (If only that happened.) I grin. Rainbow Dash leans against me and I put my arm around her.

"Ooooh are you two gonna' get MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS AND STUFFFF!" I hear a squeaky voice yell.

Oh boy.

I blush as both Rainbow dash and I look away. Fortunately for us, Pinkie Pie seems to have forgotten her question and instead begins to yell about food. Taking my opportunity to change the topic I turn to Princess Luna, "So if I have wings and magic, does that make me the same race as you and Princess Celestia?"

Luna initially caught in thought, laughs and shakes her head "No I'm sorry, you're magic is combat based and you don't have a horn. You're more of an altered Pegasus . . . Or an upgraded Unicorn . . . Or something new…"

"Riggghhhhttttttt." I say, drawing out my eloquent understanding on the subject. The cart finally stops above Ponyville, by this point, it's once again dusk. "Jeez a two day trip back?" I complain as I climb out of the cart, earning a quiet laugh from Fluttershy. We walk to the town square and part ways. Rainbow Dash says she will need to feed tank but promises to visit me afterwards.

Reluctantly I walk home . . . alone. Being alone in a foreign land is a sobering thought and after eating some very old bread, I wander outside and start to practise my...magic . . . Not like I have anything better to do while I wait for Dash.

I first transform back into a human, once again causing a small crater as I do so. I also try to bring back my wings. It doesn't work. I start with my fire spell, practising on a small pile of rocks. They get quickly blackened, but not melted. I then move onto the shockwave spell. I try to see if I can have the spell discharge on contact, like when I hit them and surprisingly, it works! I quickly shatter the rocks. Man I'm awesome! I then finish off with my octagonal beam spell. It lights up the sky like a nuclear explosion, vaporizing the rocks inside. I sit back, feeling tired, when I feel a pair of hoofs around my neck, "wow so this is you're human form?"

I leap back as Rainbow Dash laughs, "not funny, I could've blown you up!" I say.

"Yeah that wouldn't be cool. Ah well it was worth it!" she says. She walks over and pokes my stomach, "so this is your belly?"

"Yeah..." I say, feeling kind of uneasy. She laughs and hugs me, "I like your pony body more..."

"And whys that?" I respond somewhat nervously from having my two physical anatomies cross examined.

"You're tooo tall. And Pegasi are way coooler!" She exclaims while waving her arms in a show of grandeur.

Seems like the lady made her decision, I thought. Muttering a short mantra for needed concentration and allowing the welling of magic energy surge through my body I transformed into my pony body and tackled her! We laugh as we roll down the hill towards the lake. Rainbow Dash grins, "I have an idea!"

"What is it?" I respond through heavy breaths and slight chuckles.

"Ok you fire your shockwave spell at me while I'm flying and I'll dodge it!"

"You're joking right?" I said. My eyes darted haphazardly trying to find any hints of a small smirk or grin on her visage that might disprove her seriousness. Nope, she was serious.

"Nope! Come on!"

"Um no…"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel like using you for target practice? Besides you saw what it did to those zombies!" I respond with a slight quiver, trying to hold my ground.

"Yeah but It could help me with my agility! And it could like help with . . . Other stuff! It would be cool . . . And AWESOME!" Brazenly yells Rainbow dash. Damn she's kinda' cute when she's excited.

I laugh and pat her head, "Sorry, but I'd feeeeel a little guilty if you died..." I muttered, allowing hints of stern honest flow through with my words.

"Ok . . . Fine…"

"Maybe some other ti-"

KABOOOOOOOM

The ground shakes as the trees behind us explode into flames! I whirl around, and behind me is the flaming pony and another follower from behind. The newcomer has bladed wings; its coat is a swampy green colour with rust coloured patches on it. Its mane is an ugly snot yellow and a grey viscous fluid comes out from its feet. It also has no eyes!

I wish I could have reacted but the flaming equine throws his weight towards me, smashing me into an errant oak tree! It hisses though its teeth, "What did you do to my Brother?"

I choke out my words, but chose them carefully, "bite me..."

"Much obliged." It then snaps its snout towards my arm. I could only manage a small yelp as its teeth scrapes up against my flesh.

"AUGHHHH YOU FUCKER!" I scream!

"So now that you got your wish. . ." He smiles before slamming a hoof into my stomach, "What did you DO TOOO MYY BROTHERRRR?"

"Um who's your brother?" I managed to ask through the surging pain.

It scowls, "in our time, he was called Thonuss. But he's now known as Discord"

"Oh him...I destroyed him. Burnt him, turned him to stone, shattered him, then vaporized the shards." I spit out.

Its eyes narrow and it chokes me harder, "So I guess Princess Celestia's pet did win. My brother was always weak. However, I am nothing like him."

I grin, "I beg to differ" and fire my shockwave spell! It gets knocked back, but barely! I stand up and charge my octogonal laser thing. I point at it and its engulfed! The beam cuts through the sky! When the dust settles however, they are both still standing - Without a single scratch on them. It laughs and the other one just grins! The eyesless one dives for Rainbow Dash! I stop it but get knocked back! They both laugh, and the flaming one speaks,

"Well this is interesting. But you are much too weak for me to fight. I would take offence to that!" with another explosion of flame, the two vanish. I fall to the side, feeling light headed from using so much magic,

"seriously, I thought this was a nice planet where everyone gets along, and only occasionally there's some douche who likes pink clouds but otherwise the place is fun!" I yell. Rainbow Dash walks over beside me and stares at the small area where they were standing, "so did I Ekey..."

I wake up in my bed, with Rainbow Dash snuggled into me as she continues drifting in sleep. Soon after, I hear a knocking sound! Rainbow Dash moans, "But I was sleeping...just use your magic to make it stop..."

I laugh and get up, leaving a half awake Rainbow Dash floundering for me. I walk downstairs and answer the door, in front of me is a cross eyed Pegasus and a familiar baby dragon.

OMG ITS DERPYYYY! My inner Brony squeals for joy!

Spike climbs off of Derpy's back and unfolds a letter,

"Dear EKey, I Princess Celestia, wanted to thank you for your actions against Discord, we will be having some sort of a celebration, but sadly I am needed in Manehatten. In the meantime, I would like to cordially invite you to the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala. Your ticket will be enclosed in this letter. Sincerely, Princess Celestia" Spike finishes and then holds out a golden ticket. (Feels like I should be at a chocolate factory with this damn thing.) I take it and say thanks. Derpy walks over, but hits the doorframe, in the background, I can hear something shatter.

"Um is Rainbow Dash here?" she asks, wobbling around.

"Yeah I'm here..." says Rainbow Dash as she walks down a flight of stairs.

Derpy smiles, "Yay cause' I needed your help, I keep getting stuck inside clouds and I don't know how to get out!"

"Ok, you just close your wings, and then kick downwards. The combinations of your kick plus gravity will open a hole big enough to escape from. That plus the fact that you will be falling, will give you enough time to escape before it closes up." she replies rather proudly, Dash was always one for bragging about her aeronautic abilities.

"Oh . . . Ok" replies Derpy, she and spike, then set off back towards Ponyville.

Waving goodbye to the duo I then turn my attention to Rainbow Dash, "Sooo want any breakfast?"

"What do you have?" she asks, throwing a question back.

"Umm . . . old bread, old lettuce, some dirt, and a light bulb." I reply. I probably need to buy more food – Yeah, food…

"How about instead of getting sick, we go to the bakery which is 200% cooler!" she offers while familiarly waving her hooves in the air.

"Ok...I did want to eat that light bulb though..." I reply with a fake frown. We laugh and head over to sugar cube corner with a skip in each step.

On the way there, we end up encountering...no one, weird. We wander into the entrance and its dark inside,

"Oh Christ, not another-"

"SURPRISEEE!"

The lights flash on and Pinkie Pie and like 150 ponies are all standing there with grins on their faces. I grin and Pinkie Pie runs up to me, "SURPRISE! Were ya' surprised? Were ya'?"

"Um, yeah actually, what is this party for?" I questioned.

"It's for because you beat that ol' baddy Discord! I even had Twilight use her magic to make the cotton candy float like clouds! Oooh and there's the chocolate milk and cupcakes! Oh and there's music, it's my Jam!" She yells.

"Errr right...um...ok..." I say wishing I had chosen someplace else to eat. (Of all the times...now for a party?) Pinkie Pie grins ecstaticly and I feel a shooting pain in my leg, I look over and there's a small alligator sucking on my leg,

"AUGHH JESUS IS THAT AN ALLIGAT – Oh, it's gummy... Hi!"

It looks at me blankly then walks off. (Man what a weird pet choice...) I smile and walk back towards the cupcakes. I grab a few and start to eat them at the table; soon I am interrupted by Rarity.

"Oh I heard that you would be coming to the Grand Galloping Gala! Oh you must please let me make you a suit! It would be glamorous but also show your attitude."

"Um . . . But . . . Err . . . What if I don't want to go?" I reply with a quiver, I could already feel Rarity's heart sinking.

"Oh but you must! Everyone else is going!" she exclaims.

"But didn't it suck last time?" I return.

"Oh yes but Princess Celestia needs Twilight to be there, and we all wanted to give it one more try! Oh and Rainbow Dash wants to see the wonderbolts again! Oh and Fluttershy has some more techniques to see the animals! Oh and I'm meeting Fancy Pants while Applejack is meeting a few relatives or something, and Pinkie Pie is going to be there because everyone else is." she explains.

"Oh right... So what will you make me?" I ask curiously.

"I'll be making you a suit! It will be stunning and hide those garish scars!" she says.

"Oh um ok...will you need me?" I ask.

"Yes! How about in a few days, I'll work out the schedule later…" Her attention seems to run off as her eyes dart behind her haunches, "But right now I need to go stop Sweetie belle from playing with that cannon!"

She yells and then runs off. Soon after, I hear a faint booming noise. Suddenly, a pink face pops into view!

"Oooooh, EKey! Show us your human form! Pleasssseeee?" asks Pinkie Pie.

"Really?" I ask.

"Ooh yes please with sugar on top!" says Pinkie Pie.

"Hmmm I don't know..." I slowly say as I witness a crowd of ponies form around Pinkie and I.

"Please do, Please!" pleads the pink mare.

"Hmmm...fine." I say, "But we have to go outside! I dont want to break anything."

They all agree and we all walk outside. Upon reaching the town square, they all stood around me with excited grins.

"Ok. . . Umm . . . Stand back cause' there's a bit of an explosion!" I say.

The front row runs back about 10 feet. I close my eyes and imagine myself as a human again. There's an explosion of energy! The front two rows get knocked backwards as I stand up. They all gasp at my human form! I laughed at the looks on their faces. Then transform back into my pony body. They applaud as I walk back towards them; together we all make our way back to sugar cube corner. I notice a few hooded ponies slip out of sight in a nearby alley...We re-enter the bakery and Pinkie Pie turns the music back on. We all rejoin the party and I see Rainbow Dash sitting at a table, I sit next to her, "hey what's up?"

"nuthin'...some brealfast though right?" she says giggling.

"Yeah some brealfast." We laugh. I look behind me and notice a few hooded ponies whispering in a corner, I turn to Rainbow Dash, "hey...do you see those hooded ponies over there?" I ask.

"Yeah what about them?"

"Have you ever seen them before?"

"No... They don't look like somepony from around here."

I tapped my chin with a soft hoof, "Weird."

"Hey whatever, let's eat!" Rainbow Dash grabs a bowl of cookies and starts to eat them. I laugh but can't get rid of the ominous feeling I'm getting from the hooded ponies...

About an hour later, Rainbow Dash and I are now sitting with Rarity, an ash covered Sweetie Belle, Applejack, and Fluttershy. I start by telling them about my school and world before they take turns telling me about Manehatten and some of the larger cities.

These exchanges of pleasantries were quickly cut short after I suddenly felt someone behind me, I turn around and there's one of the hooded ponies inches away from my face.

"Um hi?" I ask.

It simply stares, its entire face hidden in shadow, "Are you the one who destroyed the creator Discord?"

"Um yeah..." I say, it lowers its head.

"Then you shall pay for your sins." suddenly, another pony jumps up from behind it, also clad in a hood and holding a deformed spear! It thrusts it at my head, but I roll to the side! The spear gets lodged in the table and I hit the pony with my shockwave spell! The party guests instantly panic and all the partyers try to leave as the pony gets to its feet! It pulls out a knife which it holds in its teeth and runs at me! I roll to the side and fire my shockwave spell again! I hit the pony and knock it out a window; however through the hole comes three more hooded ponies. The first one runs at me, holding a wicked sword in its mouth, however it's stopped by Twilight's magic and in return gets kicked by Rainbow Dash! Together we all manage to stop the next three! Using a combination of magic, strength, agility, and whatever Pinkie Pie has!

However the door is blown open! All that's left in the room is me, the mane six, and four unconscious ponies! Through the door walk two more hooded ponies cladded with armour and sharpened horns. Behind them are two hooded Pegasi, also wearing armour and bearing strange wings. All their feathers have been ripped out and replaced with long steel blades! Behind them is a pony the size of Big Macintosh! He's wearing a massive helmet over his hood and is holding a large ceremonial dagger.

They face us as we get ready to fight. I raise my wings and prepare my shockwave spell. Rainbow Dash hovers in the air; Twilight and Rarity ready their magic, and Pinkie Pie and Applejack ready apples and a cannon. I look over at Fluttershy who is carrying Sweetie Belle and trying to climb out the broken window to carry her to safety.

They charge at me, I fire my shockwave spell at the crowd of them and they go flying. I continue to fire at them, knocking them around the room! They hit the ground with loud thuds and start to charge at the others! I look over at them,

"we're fine here sugarcube! You just worry about the big guy!" yells Applejack as she kicks the unicorn off of her. I turn to the big guy whos charging at me! I wait till he's close and roll to the side! Only for him to turn his head and hit me! Being still injured from my recent fight with Discord, the sound I heard when I hit the wall was not nice! Kind of like chewing a mixture of bacon fat and ice cubes. I pick myself off of the floor with a groan.

"God that hurt..." I get up and face him.

He runs at me again! Instead of rolling however, I just start to hit him with my shockwave spell instead! I continue to hit him and he gets knocked back! Not a lot but enough to give me time to grab my hoof sword. I run at him with my sword pointed! I hit his arm and the blade sinks in deep! He howls and throws me across the room again! Cue bacon fat and ice cube noise. I get up again and fire at him again. However this time I aim for the large chandelier above his head! I hit it and it drops! Hitting his helmet and knocking him out cold! I look iver at the others who have just finished off the last pony. They grin and wipe sweat off of themselves.

I get up with a wince and limp over, "any trouble?"

"Not at all EKey! What were these people?" responds Twilight.

"No idea...I think they worshipped Discord." I suggest.

We decide to interrogate them when they wake up and using the time we decided tied them up. When they do wake, I take their hoods off. Some are male and some are female, they all however have a large burn mark where their cutie marks should be and also have various designs painted on their faces. I turn to the big guy, who is struggling in his bonds.

"Sooo...Wanna' tell me why you tried to stab me and my friends?" I ask casually.

He scowls, "You destroyed our chaos lord. There cannot be order without chaos. Without chaos...we enter purgatory!"

"Rigghhttt so are you like Discord worshippers?"

"We follow Thonus the spirit or deujerie of chaos. He is our savior and you destroyed him." he spits out.

"Yeahh... What's a deujerie?" I ask.

Twilight speaks up, "it's an old pony term for demigod."

"Oh ok thanks for that." I turn back to the big guy, "So you're attacking me for destroying the guy who was gonna' mess up the entire planet?"

"Yes, you stopped the chaos. Your actions have changed the order of things."

"Yeah that's great and all but, ummm, the Princess told me to."

"The Princess doesn't know what your actions have done."

"So you're saying that the one who raises the sun and is all god like and crap knows less than you do?"

"Yes."

"You're not smart man...seriously." I say shaking my head.

He looks at me and spits in my face, "You think you're so tough, you think your magic can protect from anything. It can't protect you from the death of your friends. Because there's a storm coming, Thonus' relatives aren't happy and they are coming for you, your friends, and Ponyville!"

The other ponies gasp at this. I simply scowl. Walking over to him, transforming into my human form as I do, I grab him and hold my blade to his throat, "Listen, tell your friends to leave us alone unless they want to die." I then punch him in the mouth and drag him outside.

From there, I untie him. He turns to me, wiping blood from his mouth with a grin, "You'll regret this deathbringer!" Then runs off.

I turn to Twilight, "deathbringer?"

Twilight shakes her head in confusion.

"Right...ok is everyone ok?" I ask. They all nod, only a few bruises on them. I look at myself, two gashes run down my one arm, a large bruise is on my chest, and there's a small stab wound by my left rib. I use my healing spell and the wounds slowly close up, leaving a few bruises and no scars! I walk over to the others.

"So what do we do about the others?" I ask.

"Well I already sent a letter to the Princess and the Guard will be here soon to pick them up." says Twilight.

I grin and start to clean up the room. There's scorch marks on the floor, broken windows, gouges in the walls, a busted chandelier on the floor, and a few smashes tables and chairs. Together using our magic, we manage to repair the room under a few minutes. When we finish, we are interrupted by a breathless earth pony, the mayor.

"I got here as fast as I could; the cakes told me what happened! Are you guys ok?" she asks breathlessly.

"Yep were all good here, situation is under control!" I reply.

"What happened I heard something about hooded ponies?"

"Just a few Discord worshippers, nothing out of the ordinary!" I reply.

"But why were they here?" she asks.

"Probably because I blew up what they were worshipping."

"Oh right...Oh! Speaking of that, I have something for you for doing that!" she pulls out a bag and hands it to me; it's filled with small gold coins! "For defeating Discord," she says with a smile.

"Umm thanks but I really can't accept this." I reply blushing.

"Oh but you must! It's the least we can do!" she exclaims.

"Sigh...fine." I take the money, she bids farewell to the rest of us and runs off. I open it, "hey Twilight, what's this money called?"

"It's called a bit."

"Ok..." I pick it up in my mouth and head to the market.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" asks Twilight.

"To the market, I need to buy some more food!"

"But what about the hoodies?"

"I think that it's better that I leave this place before I blow it up again..." I say and leave.

**End of Chapter 5:**

**Authors Notes: **Well thanks to my friends for being beta readers and editors and all that jazz. Sorry for threatening to stab you on multiple occasions James :P But yeah, another chapter done. This in a way, paves the way for more hell to break loose. Also I didn't include the homeless guy in this chapter because he's currently...occupied. (the multiple voices in his head miiiighhhttt have something to do with it). New chapter will probably come out some time over the weekend. Also don't forget the ratings and those reviewings. All that stuff.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 6: No Toms organic toothpaste?

The bustling Marketplace was the core of Ponyville itself, rivaling landmarks in attention such as Twilight's aged tree and Sweet Apple Acres. The buzzing and humming of busy stall proprietors tending to their customers was comfortingly familiar to me as I found it somewhat akin to earthen plazas.

As such trudging through the stalls for the daily greens was a simple task even for an otherworldly alien. That being said I still caught a few ponies giving awkward seconds glances towards my limp leg but their own bundled agenda ensured that most gave no afterthoughts and those who did was met with my assurance that I was alright.

Handling shopkeepers may be familiar with me . . . But it was something I wouldn't spend too much time on. Quickly buying the last bushel of Hay I hastily hustled my way out of town through the old barren trail.

"Hey wait!"

I turn around an in front of me is a small yellow colt, "Um . . . Are you the guy who Princess Celestia sent here?"

"Err, yeah?" I replied, trying not to grin as I stared into his beady eyes.

"Awesome! What's Canterlot like?" he asks excitedly.

"It's big . . . Kinda' wierd . . . Reaaallllyyy high up. . . And there's like some Princess there."

"Oh um, thanks!" the young colt nods haphazardly and scoots off towards a trio of awaiting friends.

The questions were odd I thought . . . But being "The Equestria Key" would garner me some fame akin to a hero I guess. Kids like that stuff, right?

"Right" I mutter back to myself as I continued along towards my adobe.

Along the way it was impossible to not reflect on what has happened over the last week –I've beaten Discord, been assaulted by his siblings, and have gotten attacked by a cult. Why does my life feel like a poorly written fanfiction?

I soon hear an errant voice akin to Rainbow Dash's. The voice was rather loud and it emitted from nowhere else but my house. Speeding up my trot I speed through my front door and run inside. I was met with none other than Rainbow Dash herself, playing a match of Call of Duty on the Xbox that I almost forgotten had been magic'd in.

It's easily the funniest thing I've ever seen – she's using her hind hooves and tail for the triggers and her fore hooves to operate the joysticks. She also has the headset on and is yelling at her teammates. I don't remember telling her how headsets work, but I figure they have some variant in Equestria's line of technology.

"How do I throw the explodey' thing? Mhmmmm . . . And why do I keep coming back from the dead?" She yells as her avatar combatant runs in circles, firing aimlessly into the air. I finally can't take it; I roll over and burst out laughing.

Rainbow Dash puts down the controller, her brow still arched in her recent run with annoyance, "What's so funny?"

"You're yelling at NPC's!" I blurt out through one last chuckle.

"What?" she asks in bewilderment.

"Those aren't actual people! You're playing the campaign!"

"But . . . But they're talking!" she replies. I could feel her frustrating shifting from the Xbox and onto me.

"They're supposed to! Hahaha!" I reply getting up.

Rainbow Dash crosses her arms and sticks her tongue out at the TV. At which point her character is blown up, "horse apples!" she says and walks over to me, "what didja' get?"

"Food."

"Oh, awesome! We can eat!" she grins, taking in the sight of the fruits and greens as I laid them on the glass coffee table.

"We just did!" I respond, giving her a questioning side glance.

"Yeah but then the hoodies showed up!"

"So?"

"Well . . . I'm hungry!" she says with a frown that did little to mar her soft complexion.

I know I'm in no position to argue with a hungry mare so I walk over and start making up some sort of a salad. I mix apples and some greens together into a bowl, then partition it between us. Rainbow Dash smiles and start to eat it, I try it to . . . It's disgusting! Trust me, it's exactly how you would think flowers and field grass would taste like. I push my bowl away and Rainbow Dash giggles,

"You dont like it?"

"How can you eat that stuff?" I respond, still recoiling in disgust.

"Because its good?" she throws an insulted look, similar to how a foreigner would after giving them a sordid opinion on their people's delicacies.

"Its not though…" I reply, but I knew better than to draw out an argument with Dash.

I then sit down on the couch and start to look through my movies. I single out "Scott Pilgrim" and immediately slide it into the DVR. The title screen opens and Rainbow Dash jumps onto the couch beside me, eager to indulge into some aspects of Human culture. "Whatcha doin'?" she asks while chewing on remnants of her salad.

"Watching Scott Pilgrim vs. the world!" I reply with a flourish.

"What's that?"

"A movie." I reply with a fantastic level of eloquence.

"Awesome!" she snuggles into me and gazes towards the Television. After watching the intro, she blinks and shakes her head, "What was that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea!" I say. Rainbow Dash grins and scratches her mane.

We watch the entire movie in silence save for the occasional questions Rainbow Dash asks about the effects, leaving me to explain that it's the style of the movie. At the end she looks at me with excited, glistering eyes, "that was way cool!".

I grin, "I know Right?" I get up and walk to the window, the sun had just begun to set. I then turn my attention to Rainbow Dash, "Hey wanna' keep teaching me to fly?" I ask.

She gets up with a grin, "Sure let's go!" and bolts outside.

I walk out where Rainbow Dash is hovering in the air, her multicolored mane flickered in the breeze and I tried my best to keep my attention on my request. "Soooo . . . What now?" I ask as I kick off into a light hover.

"Now we practice speed!" she bellows as she darts towards my person,

"Um . . . Reaally?" I reply.

"Yeah let's go!" she flies off with me slowly hovering after her. She pauses and turns back to me, "Oh . . . Right . . . You can barely fly..."

"Yeah..." I mutter in slight annoyance at the mare's late empathy.

"Well we should work on that!" she touches down and so do I, "Ok so to get up high, you need to lean upwards an push with your wings . . . Like, hard!

I nod.

To go down, just hold your wings straight out and aim at where you're gonna' land. Just remember to pull up! Or you could just stop flapping but that usually ends in trouble."

I nod again and stand up, attempting to follow Dash's advice right down to each spoken word. The taking off part works, but I'm rather wobbly and my body persists on rolling over. I end up landing on my back with a small thud, "Ow..."

Rainbow Dash laughs and pulls me to my feet, "Right well use your tail for balance. I miiight have forgotten to add that."

MY TAIL! I totally forgot I had one! I facehoof and then begin kicking into the air again. I could see the improvement as I steadily and lazily hovered around in the air . . . But I still wound up on my back . . . Dammit. I try a third time and actually end up high in the air and can sort of fly around. However I keep losing balance and occasionally forget to use my Tail.

Roughly two hours later, I am soaring through the night sky feeling like superman himself. Actually better than superman cause' kryptonite can't do jack against me! I soar through the clouds with Rainbow Dash still marginally far ahead of me. The vibes I was getting were pretty badass and the rising darkness in the atmosphere looked awesome! Thank you Princess Luna! I soar in between the clouds, and end up finding a large one. I hover above it and slowly descend, until my hooves scrape the top.

I gingerly put my hoof down on it but as soon as I begin deciding if it could support me I suddenly found myself coyly tackled by Dashie' herself . . . Tackled, the nerve! I land face first into the cloud and instantly fall in love with it! Comfiest things ever if I might add! I lie down and hear giggling above me, I roll over and there's Rainbow Dash hovering a few feet above me. I roll back and concentrate on turning part of the cloud into a pillow. I do and then decide to fall asleep, however Rainbow Dash begins jumping on the cloud making the whole thing shake.

I get up while shaking my head in annoyance, "why are you jumping?"

"Because it's fun . . . And it's too early to fall asleep!"

"Why?" my eyes drooped in earnest recognition of my previous makeshift bed.

"Because you can fly now duh! We can fly alllll over the place and pull pranks on people now!"

"Maybe tomorrow..." I roll back over and slide my forhooves behind my neck.

"No EKey! EKey, EKey, Ekey, helloooooo..." I look up and Rainbow Dash is inches away from my face.

"whaaatttt?" I quizzed.

"I'll push you off the cloud."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would." my eyes searched her face, she was serious, and of course she was, typical.

"Fine." I mutter while clumsily propping onto all fours.

Rainbow Dash happily nods and kicks off into the air, "Well, get up!"

"But I wanna' keep the cloud..."

"But I wanna' fly!" she says while trying to imitate my whiny tone. I sit down and turn around, firing my shockwave spell. The recoil makes the cloud zoom past her!

"Does that work?" I ask coyly.

She nods and speeds off with me zooming after her, whilst firing my shockwave spell into the air!

After a few short moments of flying we finally end up over a nearby lake. I stop firing; man the sky here is beautiful! There are galaxies everywhere, twinkling stars, shooting stars, and the moon. It glowed brightly as it illuminated the lake. Luna certainly has something to be proud of, I thought.

I slow down and stop, captured by its beauty. Rainbow Dash also slows down and touches down beside me, "Ok I'll let you stop cause' this is pretty awesome!" she says and lies down next to me.

'Awesome' wouldn't be the exact word I would use to describe the physical ballad of the night presented to us as if it were on a platter. Romantic and breathtaking would be more appropriate, but the former probably wasn't in Dash's usable vocabulary.

We continue to lie there in silence until the soft snoring and graceful nuzzling of the sleeping Rainbow Dash stirs me back into reality... I look over and Rainbow Dash is fast asleep on the cloud. I lie back and close my eyes as well. I soon drift off into a peaceful sleep where I am cloud strife and I'm battling zombies . . . Like a pro!

I feel a cool breeze brush against my face, it rustles me from my slumber and before I knew it I hear screaming and a loud splash! I look over to my side to find emptiness taking Dash's place. I look off of the edge of the cloud and see a small rainbow maned head break through the surface of the lake below. I try to stifle a laugh as she swims ashore and shakes herself off.

Zooming back up towards me she throws an insulted look, "What's so funny wise guy?"

"You fell in the lake." I reply laughing.

She frowns, "No I didn't I was diving into the lake for a swim!"

"Then what was the scream?" I ask. She pauses for a second, "er a scream of joy?" she suggests.

"Right, ok." I smile and she shivers, "I take it your cold?"

She nods and leans against me, I wrap my forhooves around her in a feeble attempt to warm her up. She finally stops shivering and looks at me with wide eyes, "Oh I can show you my house now!"

"Awesome!" I reply and we start to fly back, with mixed feelings about leaving my comfy cloud I might add.

We fly over Ponyville and towards the small floating palace, "Umm, Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"That's not a house . . . That's a castle..." I say slowly as I began taking in the grandeur of the levitating cloud formation. Its huge and badass and I instantly fall in love with the art style! There are pillars everywhere and everything is made of swirly clouds! We touch down and Rainbow Dash immediately starts to give me a personal tour. The house has five floors one of which it just for games and prank stuff. One floor is her bedroom, another floor is for her kitchen, and another was her training dojo, while the floor above was her lounging room. As expected each floor was littered with Wonderbolts posters and motivational posters from various Pegasi heroes.

"Wait...how did you get this chess set?" I ask, it's a small crappy plastic one and it looks vaguely familiar.

"Remember? You summoned it when we were fixing up your house! But then you didn't want it so I took it!" she exclaims. I also took notice of a few pebbles with the board that are the colour of the Wonderbolts. It was pretty cool to be honest.

Rainbow Dash then sits up, "Want some breakfast?"

"Sure!" I smack my tongue against my lips. I was really hopeful for a meal that did not consist of errant dandelions.

Dash then goes upstairs and begins asking me to get some plates. I comply and head downstairs trying to find them but mistakenly end up inside Rainbow Dashes bedroom. Its really nice and the cloud bed and the small beaten up teddy bear added a true sense of hominess. I began taking in the sky blue walls and noticed a small picture by her bed, its an old picture of Rainbow Dash in her filly years. She couldn't have been more than two years old – As far as my limited knowledge of ponies were concerned. She being held, it was very heartwarming but for some reason hints of gloom and tragedy wisped through the air.

She was held by two smiling Pegasi. There was a mare with a sky blue coat and a green mane, and a stallion with a grey coat and a red mane. Her parents . . . I'd never seen them in the show. All three of them are beaming with joy as they peered through the camera. I look over and there is one other picture, it's an older Rainbow Dash holding a medal with her father . . . But her father's face has been blotched out.

I hear a voice, "EKey? Did you find the plates?"

Her voiced stirred by consciousness but her voice came from where I had last left her – upstairs, she hadn't caught me snooping in her room thankfully. I quickly leave the room and trot back upstairs, "Um no sorry...where are they?"

"First floor in the cupboard by the poster of soarin."

"Ok thanks." I say and return below, quickly grabbing the plates and trying my best to fight the curiosity to re-enter Rainbow Dash's room.

I then headed back upstairs with earnest alacrity and began setting them up. It wouldn't be a formal meal, so I took little in the placement of the steel cold utensils. Almost as soon as my task was complete Rainbow Dash walks in with some toast, hay fries, what appears to be chocolate milkshakes, and a small bowl of strawberries. The hay fries looks rather too foreign to me but everything else had wet my appetite. We sit down and start to eat, the hay fries taste like popcorn . . . fried popcorn, the toast is good, and the milkshakes are amazing!

"Ohmygod' this is soooo goood!" I say as I wolf down the food. Rainbow Dash grins and continues to eat hers. I look outside towards the Everfree forest, its covered with a thin layer of fog and there's small red bolts of lightning shooting out of it! I grab Rainbow Dash's attention and motion her towards the window, "Do you know what that is?"

She shakes her head in confusion, "No idea..."

"Hmm do we know anyone who might know?" I ask.

"Well Twilight, knowing her, she probably has a book on it." she says with a grin as she gobbles down a strawberry.

We quickly clean up and fly towards Ponyville. We headed towards none other than Twilight's eldritch tree. It's hard to imagine that anybody would decide to take up residency in such a grotesque and gnarled home, its arms extended out and hugged the moonlight from age and its overgrown roots deformed the cobble roadway. Librarians are weird people I guess.

Rainbow Dash lands first and shortly later I follow after. Thought my landing was far from the proper landing etiquette, I lose balance about five feet off of the ground and fall, eliciting some snickers from the nearby locals. I choose to use my shockwave spell in order to knock myself to my feet, quickly silencing them. It hurts like hell but there aren't any more laughing ponies. I walk inside to find Twilight and Rainbow Dash talking.

"Well I suppose I could send a letter to the Princess."

"No Twilight, we need to explore it first! What if it's nothing important and we would just waste her time?"

"Well I suppose but I've never heard of anything like this. What if the six of us go?"

"Um . . . What about me?" I ask.

Twilight shakes her head and drags me over to a mirror, "no I'm sorry but you aren't in good shape, you should really sleep this one over."

I steal a glance myself and I have to admit she's right, I've got a black eye, my mane is messed up, scorched, and covered in dried blood, I'm covered in bruises and my feathers are all bent. I look and I've got a large scorch mark on my throat from where I was grabbed by the flaming pony, yeah . . . Not very good shape indeed. I sigh, "Even so, I can still handle myself, besides I'm the one who saw it!"

"I'm sorry EKey...I can't let you go."

"Jesus... Well . . . How will you stop me?" I ask.

Twilights horn glows and I'm flung into a soft plush chair. Ropes appear and tie me down! I struggle but I can't get out!

I look at her panicked and flustered, "way too far Twilight! Untie me!"

She smiles, "Don't worry, Spike will keep you company! So will Owlicious!" she also puts a bunch of books in front of me, "here you can read."

I scowl as Spike walks over, "Hey EKey."

"Hey Spike.." I nod and shift my sad visage over towards Rainbow Dash, "hey Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you convince Twilight that im fine?"

"No EKey . . . I'm sorry but if you died that would be uncool. Besides I need someone who can keep up with me!"

"Fine..." I say and lean my head back. They bid me goodbye and leave. I sit back and feel bored. Gonna' be a loonnnngggg day.

Three hours later, and no sign of them, I am now in the process of trying to cut through my ropes by using my shockwave spell. However I just get knocked like a ragdoll each time, it also didn't help Spike coyly berated me in my failed escape plots. I look over and Spike is idly chewing on a diamond whilst reading a book about dragon fights. I shake my head and get an Idea, "Hey Spike, if this room got really trashed, would it be your job to clean it?"

"Yeah why?"

"Well...this room is about to get really trashed!" I say and transform back into a human! The shockwave rips apart the ropes and knocks every single book onto the floor! Spike reels back with a yell as I get up off of the partly destroyed chair, "I'm so sorry Spike I promise ill help you clean up when I get back. I then bolt outside and transform back into my pony body, causing more damage in the process. I run out of Ponyville and start to head for the Everfree forest! I take off once I reach the edge and start to circle it from above and dive down towards an empty patch. Get ready for the shitstorm.

**End of Chapter 6**

**Authors Notes: **Another chapter uploaded. Thank you James for editing! So yeah, more stuff. Or something. Whatever don't forget to rate and review and all that stuff. Oh and I've been working on a side story about the man in Toronto. However the first chapter of that won't be out for a while.


	7. Chapter 7

**EKey: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 7: Cultists, Sick Pegasi, and soup!

By fate of chance I entirely forgot about my inadequate flying capabilities. Despite choosing a large clearing in the Everfree I still wound up landing far from what is palatable – I landed in a rugged bush no less. The unorthodox landing hadn't bestowed any new injuries but I still felt like I was thrown inside a running carburettor.

The resulting shakeup left me slightly queasy, akin to flicking one's head too fast, but I was perfectly capable of taking in my surroundings. The treeline past the clearing looked exceptionally dark and murky. Whatever moonlight graced the area's presence was simply shunned by the eldritch canopies of Everfree's coniferous denizens. To find the silver lining however I must add that it was almost ethereal and beautiful to look at if you look past the ominous visage. The whole forest floor was littered with errant beams of moonlight that have barely made it through sanguine holes in the canopy – One can almost describe the scene as shining a flashlight through a dark gem, creating a somber disco ball effect.

Despite taking in the ominous cross breathtaking view with stride I began doubting myself. Why did I leave the library? Twilight Sparkle was completely right, I needed my rest and here I am now . . . In the middle of nowhere. Yes I could fly out, but the whole scenario was a somber eye opener for my brazen thought process - That and I previously wrecked Twilight's library. Let's hope my callous decisions would be worth it…

I can't go back now, and with a sharp shake I limber up and trot closer to the somber treeline.

It wasn't long until I stumbled upon an errant dirt trail leading away from the clearing. Taking a gander, I look down and notice several different sets of hoof prints. I wasn't sure but I could estimate that six equines had made them. I took my chances and followed the trail of prints, hoping they came from the girls. My optimism spiralled downwards however, the trail of hoof prints haphazardly lead off the structure dirt road and into the dense shrubbery of the Everfree. After seeing the ominous woods beforehand I really wasn't looking forward to ever entering the forest tonight.

My ears perked up, I heard a caucus of voices echoing across the trail and into the woods. Whoever the hoof prints belonged to their owners weren't far off.

"Think anyone's following us?"

"Nah...It's nuthin'."

"Alright well then . . . We had better get back to the boss, the ritual starts soon."

"Yeah"

I throw myself into the prone position and began pulling dirt, dragging myself closer to the currently disembodied voices. The Everfree forest is not as dry as one might suspect, it was currently in the forest's lifecycle where it is forming into a marsh. Ergo, dragging my furred skin across the dirt was very unpleasant to say the least.

My commitment to stealth paid off at least, up ahead through an errant hole in a bush I could easily make out the figure of two equines. The apparel they wore was a dead ringer to those worn on Discord's cultist and I felt obliged to follow them further, keeping to the shadows as I do. They continue to walk briskly towards the deeper part of the woods much to my dismay. Looking to my left I notice a peculiar ruin of an old castle, it almost seemed out of place in these words but I instantly identified the ruins as the exact location where the Elements of Harmony were initially found.

I continue down the thick towards a nest of trees while the cultists briskly dive through a small breach in a ruined wall. Knowing better than to follow after them through the same hole I center out another opening in the stone formation and clamber in. I find myself at the edge of a circle of standing stones whose formation is reminiscent of Stonehenge. The chosen hole leads me through into the inner wall of the castle. I wasn't in the interior of any buildings as far as I know, so one could only assume that the current location was the old courtyard of the fallen palace.

At each of the standing stones, there is a chanting hooded pony; at the centre however, is a thin ancient looking one who is also wearing an ominous cloak. He is decorated with red filigree and tassel, like any self-respecting cultist with an air of authority. Taking care to hide behind an ominous, errant bush I notice the second hooded pony that was significantly bigger, walk up to the frilly dressed one. He pulls back his hood and the ancient one paints an exclamation mark on his forehead. The big guy bows and limps back to his spot in the circle.

The ancient one opens his mouth as if to speak but then pauses, "It appears we have a guest." he wheezes out, his voice ragged and hoarse from age.

The collection of ponies all shift their hooves and murmur, "Who is it sir?" asks one.

"The death bringer." his eyes narrow and he turns and looks directly towards my position. Fear and surprise froze me in place, giving the ancient equine ample time to trot over to my position.

Instantly I toss any feelings of trepidation aside and raise my hoof in aggressive defiance. He simply chuckles and grabs my hoof, then pulls upwards, the pain is excruciating and I am flung into the illuminating circle. I get up, spitting out mud and turn to face him – He's gone! I then feel a pair of hooves slam into my back and I am sent sprawling again.

I pick myself up with a groan. He walks towards me casually and with a face, heel turn he slings around and bucks my side, flinging me directly into one of the standing stones. The similarly ancient standing monolith crumbles from strain and collapses on my wing, pinning it and me in place. I yell in pain and try to push it off and as expected, failed to budge the giant crag. The hooded one walks towards me, kicking an errant stone monolith aside with bewildering ease. He grabs me by the throat and raises me to his visage, leaving only the stone entrapment as the only means of being anchored to the ground.

"Well I suppose Thonus was wrong about your strength. You're just a weak stallion!" he wheezes out through parched lips.

I grin as an idea pops into my head, "Up. Yours." I spit out before transforming into my human form. The explosion knocks aside the old guy, and the once ever convenient lack of wings dislodges me from the monolith entrapment.

He gets up with a wheeze, the tattered remains of his cloak fall off and he recoils into a steady position with alacrity. I laugh and face him, readying my magic as I do so. I raise my hand, point at him and fire my shockwave spell.

The transcendent spell hits him hard and knocks him into a slight stagger but in the end it did little to do as much as cause a scratch on the elder – Resulting in him darting towards me with cat-like agility. His hooves make contact with the soft underside of my neck and immediately I'm whopped into the ground. Through an echo of brazen punches I manage to kick him off and quickly think through several strategies that could oust the elder.

_How About a . . . Big. Fucking. Laser…? Yeah that works!_

I raise my hands only to feel a piercing pain shoot through my leg. I look down and spot a small knife sticking out of my left calf. I was relieved that adrenaline did its job and clouded any sense of pain but my optimism was cut short when I spotted an encore of knife wielding cultist rush up towards me.

"The more the merrier!" I say through a slight quiver in my lips before turning to see a wrinkled hoof flying at my face.

**WHAM!**

I fall to my knees and decide to try carry on with my aforementioned plan. I roll over and place both hands onto the ground, allowing surges of static induced magic seep into the cold dirt through my palms. The ground crackles and moans from strain, resulting in blinding rays of light seeping through the earthen cracks. The intensity of the roaring earth increases within a short period of time while my body enters a trancelike state of euphoria brought on by intense flow of ethereal, arcane magic.

**KABLANG!**

The ground is violently ripped apart, chunks of terra firma fly haphazardly into the horizon. The light blinds me and I can feel my subconscious drift apart from reality, the spell had taken a lot out of me and I feared the worse when I felt the sensation of being flung into the air. I had struck a stone altar with a bone-wrecking crunch.

I blink a few times but my vision stays blurry, I rub my eyes and still no avail. I look at the small piles of ash littering the standing stones. I hear a ringing in my ears and everything starts to spin. I pick myself up with a groan and stand up. The cultists have either died or fled, either way the battle was over in my benefit. I nod to myself and shift back into my equine form. Taking the much needed time to check myself I spotted several gashes and cuts, they didn't bother me as much as the broken left wing I seemingly spouted.

_Well time for healing magic! _

I raise my hoof and start to heal myself, my stab wound close up and my wing resets itself with a chilling click. I shake my head but the unearthly blur remains. I NOW definitely need the rest Twilight so thoughtfully requested.

I raise my hoof to my temple and it comes away covered in blood. I sigh and start to limp away from the standing stones, "Another day at the races..." I mutter.

I pause and turn back towards the stone monoliths and the assorted loot left behind. Taking the ever so necessary looting spree I was cheerfully rewarded with badass looking curved knives, two sheaths, belts for the sheathes, a new ripped cloak with a red inner linen, and an armored pauldron for my right shoulder. Like any self-respecting hero I adorned myself with the uniforms of my fallen enemies while taking time to check myself out.

_Not too shabby for a stallion whom was beaten half to death five minutes ago. _

Taking time to pace myself, I limp away from the ruins, eager to find some rest and shelter . . . And some relief after today's events…

…

_I wonder if Twilight found the mess I left her yet…_

The trip out of the forest had not taken long but it was lengthy enough to give my limp some time to subside. Heading out of the ominous forest I backtracked towards my house . . . Only to find a merry glow emanate through the crystalline windows. I hadn't left my lights on when I left, so I could write that out, someone else had ventured into my adobe.

I head for my front door, the mustering of voices and laughter gave tell to the obvious presence of trespassers. Eagerly, I open it only to find myself face to face with Twilight.

"Um, hi?" I say.

"What did you do to my library?" her brow furrows.

"Um . . . trashed it?" I managed to muster through a gulp.

I hear laughter behind her. My living room is occupied by the rest of the mane six, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack are watching Star Wars, while Fluttershy is looking at my CD collection and Rarity is cooking something tantalizing to my nostrils.

Twilight scowls at me, "Not only did you trash it, but you broke out when we all specifically told you not to!"

"I'm sorry." I say feeling sheepish.

"I mean look at you now! Did you fall off a cliff or something?" she lectures

"Actually I got rid of the rest of those cultists." I say proudly, hoping to spark any sense of heroism that could land me out of trouble.

"Hmm well we found the source of the lightning." Her nagging tone falters as she strokes her chin with the underside of her purple hoof.

"What was it?" I ask.

"Turns out, an Ursa Minor had gotten in a fight with a hydra. The lightning was the aftershock."

"Oh. Okay." I nod.

"Well I expect you to clean up tomorrow. You did make a mess of my place after all."

"Oh lighten up Twi', that was hilarious! Spike was so scared when we found him!" says Rainbow Dash as she flies over to me, putting her one arm around me. I hiss from the pain conjured by her contact and she quickly recoils away.

I could make out a faint 'sorry' muttered by the cyan Pegasus before turning my attention back to Twilight, "I promise I will clean it tomorrow."

Twilight smiles before turning away and promptly adopts a seat next to Applejack. I turn my visage towards Fluttershy whom accidently jolts my CD player into operation. She jumps at the sound but she is quickly greeted by the wavering hooves of Pinkie Pie whom has taken her queue to begin dancing.

Both Applejack and I laugh at Pinkie's antics, garnering both of our attention. "Where'd ya' get that apparel there, partner?"

"Found it." I reply with my usual inarticulateness, leaving her curiosity sateless. She nods slowly and trails her attention back to the TV. I smile and seize a seat next to the fair haired Equine, wincing in pain.

Rainbow Dash walks over to me, "So how did you get hurt this time?"

"Got flung into some rocks, punched, stabbed, and blown up; the usual." I reply with a toothy grin.

She smiles and sits next to me, "Well sounds fun." she says with a concerned chuckle.

I look over at Pinkie Pie who is literally freaking out at the TV. She can't seem to decide whether or not to be angry at the characters or happy because they talk. It's pretty funny to be honest.

Rarity walks over with some food, "For you darling, oh and you must come to my boutique tomorrow so I can measure you for your new suit!"

I try out the food and it is very palatable, it was unique in its own right but the way it was prepared was akin to those seen in a fancy French restaurant. Finishing up the lavish meal I quickly begin to say my pardons as excuse myself to my room.

My newly prepared room was humble to say the least. In contrast to the living quarters my personal room was very drab. Not like that mattered much at the moment anyway. Throwing off my cloak I proceed towards the elegant mirror that stands errantly in the room.

"Those wounds have healed nicely," I whisper, "it's a shame that I've acquired new ones."

Ascertaining my wounds was something I wasn't looking forward to. I knew I was roughed up back at the ruins and it slowed. A deep long gash that will soon scar spreads across my stomach akin to a paintbrush swiped across a drab canvas. To top that off I've acquired a black eye . . . Sure it's nowhere near a scar . . . But hey, it's my face we're talking about here.

I throw on my cloak, taking care to wrap the light leather around my body as to conceal the unwelcoming scars. "Another day at the office…"

I come down from my room only to find that all hell has broken loose. Rarity is covered in food, Fluttershy is pressing random buttons on my CD player franticly, Twilight is morbidly looking at a soaked letter, Applejack is drenched in water as well, Rainbow Dash is laughing her head off, and in the middle of the room, covered in both food and water is Pinkie Pie with a confused look on her face.

"Um what happened?" I ask bemusedly.

I giggle as I envisioned the events play out in my head, but quickly grimace when I take a second glance towards the mess. "Maybe we should clean up?"

Rainbow Dash throws a foreleg behind her neck, "I guess…"

After the cleanup I say my goodbyes to Twilight's circle of friends whom steadily made their way back to their own homes. I tried urging Rainbow Dash into staying a bit longer, but she apparently had a trip to Cloudsdale that she needed to get to. It was probably for the best anyhow, I needed some time to tend to my own wounds anyway.

The unwelcome rays of morning sunlight beckoned me from my slumber. With my eyes still clenched I throw my hooves off my solemn mattress in hopes of stirring myself into full consciousness. It was the usual morning ritual, I wasn't a morning person, no siree not a morning person indeed.

Making my way through the morning routine I began steadily making my way into town, leaving my cloak behind. Soon enough I came upon my destination, Carousel Boutique, a marvelous wonder in its own right. The designers of the building truly outdid themselves; the boutique outshone and outsized any home or structure in the entire city. Which comes to no surprise since the boutique was designed on old Canterlot building designs.

I open the boutique's door to find Sweetie Belle staring up at me, "Oh . . . Hi EKey! Rarity's in the back waiting for you!" she says and scoots outside.

I close the door and head inside. "Oh, EKey I am up here!" calls Rarity's disembodied voice.

Taking that as her permission, I head upstairs to intrude her sowing room where she is standing with a tape measure and a bunch of different colour patterns.

"Wow . . . Quite the spread Rarity." I say.

"Oh thank you! I love it when people comment on my work." she replies, "Now stand there so I can get your measurements."

An hour later Rarity and I finally came to a style we could both agree on for my suit. Equestrian fashion does share some similarities to those on Earth, but half the time the apparel Rarity suggested seemed a bit to fru fru for me. That aside, the final model Rarity drew out for me looked pretty good and I was eager to try it out as soon as it's made.

After saying my goodbyes to my elegant Unicorn friend I began trotting over to Twilight's library. I made a promise to Twilight and I don't intend on breaking it. After all I don't want the Ponyfolk to think that we humans are liars and promise breakers . . . Oh wait . . . But they don't have to know that!

I walk over to the treehouse and began knocking a short tune into the wooden framed door. Twilight's library was a magnificent wonder to gaze at . . . but up close you would really see the wear and tear from countless generations of vacancy.

"Oh, come in." I hear a soft voice say from within. I walk in and Twilight is there attending to a cracked pitcher, "Oh, it's you EKey, well are you ready?".

I look around the room; it is much tidier than what I left off to yesterday. "Ummm… Why is it cleaner?"

"Well, I couldn't spend all morning in the pigsty you left us," Twilight flicked her hair towards spike who was calmly brushing errant dust balls around the floor, "and I figured that we would give you a helping hoof anyway."

"Oh. Okay." I nodded happily.

Twilight begins touring me around her assortment of bookshelves, more specifically shelf 'O' to 'Z'. I felt a bit lost when Twilight began instructing me how to catalogue and sort out the books before placing them on the shelves. It seemed harder than I thought - rules such as organizing biographies by the famous person's name rather than the title of the book was new to me. I really got to hand it to librarians, it's a hard job and I doubt I'll ever make a good librarian myself.

…

About a half hour later the adequate trio of cleaners reorganized the librarian as good as new, and possibly even better. I asked for my pardons and left the treehouse with complacency for what I've done. Sure I made the mess, but it was a good deed none the less.

Now onto my final stop of the day, the train station. It was a shame that Dash had to leave today, training alone doesn't sound like fun in the slightest.

I shortly arrive at the tracks near the edge of town. The barren and rugged landscape was the only evidence of the demolition and construction that swept through middle Equestria during the railway revolution. I knew little of Equestria but staying near Twilight has garnered me more information of the Equine state itself.

I began trotting onto the railway's waiting station, the floorboards creaked and sagged with each step and I found myself questioning the budget that goes into the railway lines.

"Last call for Cloudsdale surface station!" calls out the conductor.

I look around and spot no familiar rainbow maned Pegasus. I was afraid that she might have already boarded the train.

I walk over to the conductor, "Excuse me sir?"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen a blue rainbow maned pony get on this train?" I clop my hooves together and look up forlornly.

"Rainbow Dash? No, haven't seen her, kid, sorry." He nods and rubs the underside of his stubble, "I do remember her buying a ticket the other day, and I guess she called a rain check on her trip."

"Alright thanks..."

Leaving the station disheartened I quickly take to the skies, looking for Rainbow Dash. I check all her favourite trees and napping places. No luck there, I then check sugarcube corner and Applejack's farm. Both Pinkie and AJ swore that they haven't seen her all day. I corralled my thoughts together. There was only one place left, her house. I quickly sped up my flight to the auspicious sky mansion.

I landed with a soft thud on the woolen clouds of Dash's porch. Knocking on her door gathers no reply and I found myself sheepishly peeking into the wooden egress. My hooves clopped loudly on her polished marble flooring, the sound echoes throughout the interior leaving me feeling solemnly lonely.

"Rainbow Dash?" I bark. There was no reply and I found that ample permission to continue my search.

I hear an errant moan emanate from around the corner to my right. I run towards the sound while taking care to not slide and slip on the smooth tiles and fluffed rugs. Around the corner I find myself in her living room. I immediately spot Rainbow Dash slumped down on a small pile of clouds.

"Um Rainbow Dash are you ok?" she twitches and shakes her head somberly.

"Huh wuzzat'?" she asks with a voice thick and rasp.

"You don't sound so swell, are you okay?" I asked concernedly.

Her haunches curl up and shiver as she gets up, "I'm fine . . . I've just got a bit of a headache..."

"You know your train left like half an hour ago right?" I question, earning an immediately response as Rainbow Dash suddenly jumps up,

"THE TRAIN LEFT?" She yells as she scrambles to throw stuff in a bag. Her haphazard packing then comes to an immediate stop as another cough racks her body and forcing her down onto her knees. "Horse apples…" mutters Rainbow Dash.

I grab her with both hooves, "Rainbow Dash...are you ok?" I ask, staring into her eyes.

She looks at me puzzled, "EKey im fine.." she says through scattered sneezes. I manage to get a close look at her; her eyes are red as though she hadn't slept. I immediately place a hoof on her shoulder before she continues her routine packing.

"Rainbow Dash are you sick?" I ask. Rainbow Dash looks at me as though I just told her pigs could fly,

"Of course I'm not sick! I've never been sick! Not being sick is in my blood!" she says before breaking down in a cough.

I throw her a chiding gaze, "You don't say…"

"Honestly! Ive just got a tickle in my throat!" she exclaims. She finishes throwing stuff in the bag and drags it downstairs. I hear thump and a cry of pain and I run down to find Rainbow Dash holding her head again, the bag split open below her. She groans and rubs her temples again.

I hustle over to her, "Rainbow you're clearly sick. Come on let's take you to the doctors."

"No . . . no I'm not sick! I hit my head which is why I'm dizzy!"

I cocked my head to my right, "I thought you had a headache."

"Um I had a headache but then it went away! Then I fell down the stairs which is why I'm dizzy!"

"Then why were you just rubbing your temples?"

"Um the dizziness went away . . . and the headache returned." she says before breaking down into another coughing fit.

"Right." I sternly say.

She looks at me and yawns, "I think I'll take the later train..."

"Sure okay... Rainbow Dash you're coming with me. I'm taking you to the doctors." I steely say while doing my best to conjure a serious expression.

Her eyes widen, "But I'm not siiiick!"

"Rainbow Dash you clearly are. Look at you!"

"I'm not sick..." she mumbles through yawns and leans back on the stairs. I pick her up and drape her over my back. She pushes away weakly but after a few seconds she lies there blinking.

"Ok I'm definitely taking you to the doctors.." I say.

"No don't take m-…mmh…" her words falter as she steadily drifts into sleep. I walk outside with her carefully on my back. Apparently Pegasi are much heavier than they look, and her weight alone would have made it rather difficult to fly had I not chosen to simply glide down.

I touch down near the outskirts of town onto a small playfield where the young Cutie Mark Crusaders have laid claim in their trivial adventures. They had looked rather bored and eager for adventure and it was no wonder that they had immediately caught sight of Dashie and me.

Scootaloo runs over to me, "Is Rainbow Dash ok?" she asks franticly as her other duo of friends rush over to meet her.

"Yes, she's fine… She is just a bit under the weather. I'm taking her to the doctor…" I mutter a bit impatiently.

Scootaloo and the girls seem to catch onto my exasperation, "Oh, okay" echoed the squeaks of the trio of fillies as they rushed back over to an errant stone that had been 'investigating'.

Rainbow Dash shakes and stirs from her early slumber. "Ah! Where am I?"

"Outside Ponyville. I'm taking you to see a doctor." I say, craning my neck to meet Rainbow Dash's pearly eyes.

"Augh! You can't . . . you mustn't! If the other ponies see me like this! Then I'll be the laughingstock of this town...FOREVER!" she yells, her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.

I sigh, "What should I do then?"

"Um . . . leave me at your house . . . aaand have the doctor come look at me there?"

"Fine." I say and start to walk towards my house. She lies on my back, refusing to say a word save for the occasional sneeze or cough. I reach my house and walk inside. I bring Rainbow Dash over to my couch and set her down there. She lies on her back and I bring her a blanket. I then quickly run to the kitchen and grab her a glass of water. She takes it but doesn't drink. Choosing instead, to snuggle into the blanket and close her eyes. Taking this as my chance I leave quietly and head for the doctor's office.

I arrive at the Ponyville Memorial Hopsital. The building was seemingly new as the wooden furnishing still breamed with a bright glaze. Walking through the front doors I spot a small filly with a cast on his horn walking out. The doctor behind him smiles and turns his attention towards me, "Hello there. Can I help you with anything?"

"Um, yeah well you see Rainbow Dash is sick and I was wondering if you could come and take a look at her." I ask.

The doctor grabs a clipboard from over a desk, "Well what are her symptoms?"

"Um… a headache, fever, coughing, sneezing, dizziness, sore throat, and I think that's all." I nod and gaze sheepishly at the doctor.

"Ah… She probably got that bug that has been going around."

"Well what should I do?" I ask.

"Well make sure she gets plenty of sleep. I suggest picking up some warm soup for her and some ingredients for hot toddies. Also make sure she doesn't try to fly because since she's sick, the high altitudes will give her a migraine. Don't even get me started on flying while dizzy."

I bob my head in acknowledgement, "Alright thanks."

"Anything else?" he asks.

"Um no... That'll be all doc', thanks"

After saying my farewells I head back outside, making sure to run into the market where I grab several cans of pea and broccoli soup before heading for Twilight's house.

I reach the front door and knock, "Come in." I hear a voice say from within. I open the door to find Twilight reading while Spike is continuing to dust some shelves.

Twilight smiles, "Oh hey EKey."

"Hey Twilight, listen I wanted to ask a favor." I mutter humbly.

"Yes?"

"Could you quickly write a letter to Princess Celestia asking if I can get sick?"

"Um . . . sure, why though?" questions Twilight.

"Well, Rainbow Dash is sick and she's staying at my place. So I just wanted to make sure I didn't get sick either." I reason.

"Oh my . . . is she ok?" asks Twilight alarmed.

I gave her a single firm nod, "Yeah she's just got a small fever, headache, coughing, sneezing, that's all."

"Oh, good. Well then talk to Spike about the letter" she says before quickly returning to her book.

"Ok." I reply and turn towards Spike who has already dropped his duster in favour of a quill and scroll, "Okay . . . Dear Princess Celestia. It's EKey, I was just wondering if it's possible for me to get sick? That's all. Thanks.", Spike finishes writing and begins belching a light green aura of fire into the paper.

We wait for a few minutes until Spike burps up a reply. He holds it out and clears his throat, "Dear EKey, no you cannot get sick. That's one of the vessels many perks. It's immune to any virus because viruses have no need for it as a host. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."

I grin, satisfied over the good news, "Alright . . . cool!"

Twilight looks up, "Oh wait EKey!" she says and runs into the backroom before coming back with a small bottle, "This stuff is great for headaches! I use it all the time. Just add a drop to a drink and give it to her."

She gives me the bottle and I make my goodbyes. I then walk back towards my house, carrying my groceries and Twilight's new found remedy. I was warmly satisfied when I walked through my front door, Rainbow Dash seemingly hasn't moved a muscle and was still resting on my sofa.

"mmblpb hmm?" asks Rainbow Dash from reclining posture.

"I talked to the doctor and he says you've got a bug that has been going round' town."

"hmmblrp ok..." she mumbles.

"Do you want some soup?" I ask warmly, "The doctor recommends it."

"Sure..." she says lowly and tries to stifle a frown. I walk to the kitchen and start to make some pea soup. As its heating, I walk back over to Rainbow Dash. I sit down on the couch beside her and she immediately snuggles into my side.

"So do you still have that headache?" I ask.

"No.." she replies as she buries her muzzle deeper into my side.

We continue to sit there quietly for a few minutes until I remember the boiling soup. As I get up to go check on it, Rainbow Dash pipes up, "I'm not sick..." she says somberly.

I chuckled at her stubbornness and went back into the kitchen to check on the soup. It's warm, bubbling, and looks about ready. I pour a bowl of it, grab a spoon, and bring it back to her.

"Thanks..." she expresses before taking a small spoonful. I smile and get back up, looking for some lunch of my own. I end up grabbing some bread and cheese and making another grilled cheese sandwich. As I'm cooking it, I hear more coughing and then the sound of a bowl clattering, then silence, then groaning. I walk back into the living room where Rainbow Dash is wiping soup off of her face. Traces of soup littered and stained the blue mare, the blankets, and the woolen carpets.

Rainbow Dash frowns and looks up at me forlornly, "I coughed and dropped the soup..."

I chuckle to settle her nerves and grab the blanket, throwing it into my laundry basket and proceeded to grab another one. I then mop up the soup and pour her another bowl, I could always clean the mess later, right now it's Dashie's time. I walk over and hand her the bowl, earning a smile and a shy 'thank you' from the mare. She then pauses and puts it back down before sneezing. She wipes her nose and picks up the bowl again. But once again puts it back down before coughing. She sighs and looks at me,

"I hate being sick..."

End of chapter 7

Authors notes: Goddamit I really need to get my thoughts organized when it comes to this story. Ok I have a job for you viewers, you guys need to point out plot holes and potential mistakes. I'm not talking about spelling mistakes, I can bitch at my editor about those. I'm talking about story mistakes, timeline mishaps, ect. You know what I mean. Oh and don't forget to rate and review and alllllll that crap. I also set up a deviantart account which I will be posting some art I did for the story on. I have a habit of drawing my characters as I write about them. I have like 15 different pictures of the homeless guy and EKey. So yeah, ummm dammit. Oh yeah thanks for editing James.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By Anunymau5_

Chapter 8: In which Rainbow Dash is still sick

_Toronto, Canada, 8:45 Pm__._

After finally escaping, the errant man sits down in his favorite, secluded corner. It wasn't hard, just a quick reality modification in order to make the cement walls behave like a gas. He simply walked out and the wall solidified behind him. He pulls out his bottle and takes a swig,

"Hey what's up?" Asks the tentacled pony.

"What do you want?" replies the man stoically.

"Actually, I wanted to make a truce with you. I feel that our arguing has not done much to help little Ekey."

"Yeah? What gave you that idea?" asks the man sarcastically.

"Oh your so funny, now shut up and let me talk. I think, if we work together, Ekey will have an easier time against Despair and Destruction."

"Fine. Just stop giving me headaches."

"Deal."

"So what are Despair and Destruction up to?"

"Well, they are both hiding out in Tartarus. Seeing as the fact they have little to no power right now. However, on the day of the Gala Despair will regain his powers and come after Ekey."

"Should I warn him?" Asks the man.

"Not yet, I still have to mess with him a bit, and we can't get him worried."

"How about you don't give him nightmares."

"What do you want then, wet dreams? Sorry pal but I'm not into that kind of thing. I'm sticking with nightmares. Besides it's fun to see him scared. I also get to see how he reacts under certain types of pressure."

"Whatever, just don't go overboard. We don't want him to have another meltdown."

"Hey, that was back when I wanted to take over his body! Now I don't and everything is better."

"Except the nightmares."

"Your right, except those." Says the tentacled pony with a sadistic chuckle.

_Equestia, Ponyville, 8:45Am._

Fits of concurrent coughs stirred me from my sleep. I look over to my side and see Rainbow Dash with her blankets kicked aside, practically coughing out a lung. She gets up from her dreary recline and looks at me, "Whys it so hot?" she asks, her voice hoarse and quiet. Pun intended.

"It's not...it's actually rather cold." I respond.

Rainbow Dash starts to shiver, "but I feel reeeaaalllllyyyyy hot! Like boiling hot!" she exclaims frantically. I slide my hoof across her forehead. She really IS hot! Sweat has already begun frothing from the pores of her skin, and her complexion seemingly darkened over the course of the night.

I think for a few seconds and then get an idea!

"Hey Rainbow Dash?" I ask. She groans and looks over at me, "Um, where would Fluttershy be at a time like now?"

Rainbow Dash moans again, "probably near the edge of the everfree forest..."

"Um, ok." I grab a cool, damp towel and place it on her forehead, "keep this on your forehead until I get back." I say as I leave.

Walking along the edge of the Everfree Forest, I spy a pink tail sticking out from under a forlorn bush. I wander around the bush to Fluttershy. She jumps and tries to hide when she sees me, but calms quickly after registering my familiar face.

"Oh hi EKey… I didn't see you there." she whispers quietly.

"Oh, um, sorry, I just had a question is all."

"Ok… What is it?" she asks.

"Well what's the best way to help a Pegasus that's burning up with a fever?"

"Oh do you mean Rainbow Dash? Well a cool bath can help, aaaand'so can damp towels and cold drinks." she says.

"Oh ok, thanks..." I say, "Actually, could you maybe help me take care of her?"

"Oh um...uh...I don't really know...um..."

"I mean, it's really up to you." I calmly respond, trying to pacify the wallflower.

"Oh, um, its nothing like that...um, I'm meeting a friend of mine from Las Pegasus in a few days, and I don't really want to get sick . . . sorry." she mews, looking nervous.

"Oh that's fine, Ill manage with her myself then. At least she's not as stubborn as usual." I say. Fluttershy giggles as I walk back towards my house.

I walk in to lonesome, and painful moaning, "Hey Rainbow." I say with hints of worry.

"Ughhh . . . EKey . . . please help meeee..." she moans. I walk over and she's somehow gotten the towel to hang onto my ceiling fan.

"Um..." I say, not exactly sure as to what's going on.

"I stopped feeling hot, so I tossed the towel but then it caught the fan and soon after, I started to feel hot again." says Rainbow Dash.

"Ok well how about a cool bath?" I suggest.

"Ok yeah...that sounds cool." giggles Rainbow Dash. I walk into my bathroom and set one up, making sure that the water is cool but not freezing. Once the bathtub is filled, I walk back towards Rainbow Dash.

"Ok your baths ready." I say.

Rainbow Dash moans and looks at me, "I'm too sick. I can't walk." she says quietly. I sigh and walk outside to transform into a human. I then walk back inside and scoop up Rainbow Dash, who nuzzles her head into my chest,

"You know for a headstrong daredevil Pegasus, you sure do become the biggest baby as soon as you contract even the smallest disease." I say casually as I head for my bathroom.

"Hey I'm dying, so yeah." She replies with a dramatic moan. I drop her into the bathtub where she yelps and then looks at me with a frown,

"Come on that was funny." I say, receiving a few haphazard splashes from the defiant Pegasus,

"Now that was funny!" she chuckles back as I sputter and walk out of the bathroom. I then sit down on the nearby sofa and power up my Xbox, loading up Fallout 3 right after. I decide to stay as a human until Rainbow Dash is done in the bath. In the meantime, I'll go ghoul hunting. Thank god for portable generators.

After gunning down another ghoul with my hunting rifle, I hear splashing and giggling. (At least she seems to be feeling better.) I smile and return to the game. I finish off another sewer system and head towards Rivet City. After buying more bullets, I proceed to start going after small Raider groups. I hear more splashing and giggling, then laughing, then coughing, then moaning.

I smile and lie back, starting to feel my eyes go heavy. I blink a few times and then slowly fall asleep.

Man caring for a sick Pegasus is hard work.

The sound of a draining bathtub stirs my subconscious, pulling me away from my slumber. I get up and hear quiet humming. I then hear a hairdryer going off and a loud yelp. Walking towards the bathroom, I knock on the door, "hey are you ok?"

"AUGH HOW DO I STOP MAKING THAT THING BE SO LOUDD! " yells Rainbow Dash.

I open the door and relieve Dash by unplugging the hair dryer. Rainbow Dash utters a sigh of relief. It's friggin' adorable as she sits there on the floor dripping and sneezing. I walk out into the living room again with Rainbow Dash moaning and holding her head.

After I had dried myself off, turned back into my stallion form, and cleaned up my bathroom, I walk back to Rainbow Dash who's sitting on the couch again.

"Hey EKey?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I watch a movie?"

"Sure which one?"

"Can I watch Scott Pilgrim again?"

"Um, sure." I word out before putting the movie on for her. I notice Dashie's voice going hoarse again so I decide to brew up a hot toddy before we can both enjoy the movie.

"Hey Rainbow?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a headache?"

"Um yeah..." she says. I proceed to add a drop of Twilight's remedy into to the hot toddy and bring it out to her. She smiles and starts to drink it. Then she leans against me and puts the blanket on me as well. I put my one forearm around her and hug her tightly.

About halfway into the movie, I look over at Rainbow Dash who's clearly having a hard time staying awake. I grin, "hey you tired?"

She nods so I turn off the movie and gather her some pillows. She snuggles into the woolen fabric and closes her eyes. I kiss her forehead gently and go for a walk outside.

I return from my walk bruised and tired, "Damn hydra..." I mutter to myself as I waggle loose clumps of dry dirt off of me. I walk in quietly to check on Rainbow Dash who's still asleep. I then close the door and head towards Ponyville. I quickly reach the doctors office and head back inside. The doctor turns to me,

"Why hello there? How is Rainbow Dashes recovery?" he asks.

"It's going well, I just wanted to know how long she would be sick for?"

"She should be up and kicking clouds in about two to three days." he says.

"Hmm alright, thanks." I say and leave, heading back towards my house. I walk inside and sit at my desk. Thinking. (My god...I'm caring for a sick Pegasus. If someone told me that a few months ago, I would have laughed in his or her face! And then probably wished it was true.) I smile and decide to go check on Rainbow Dash. I walk over to her where she's sleeping with a small grin on her face. I kiss her gently and then put my hoof on her forehead. She's warm but not as bad as earlier. Her fever must be dying. Rainbow Dash mumbles and wraps more of the blanket around herself.

I decide to call it a day and go to bed. I fall asleep quickly but lightly, just in case she wakes up.

My eyes shift open at the sound of footsteps. I get up and turn on the light, "EKey?" I hear a disembodied voice ask.

"Yeah?"

"Um, can I sleep in here? The couch is cold." says Rainbow Dash as she slowly shuffles in.

"Of course you can." I mumbled, still tired from my slumber. She climbs in and snuggles into me. I put my arms around her as she continues to shiver. Eventually however, she warms up and falls asleep. I close my eyes and also end up falling asleep.

The next morning I wake up to coughing and retching. I groan as I get up, noticing Rainbow Dash gone and my bathroom light on. I look over and she's leaning over the toilet heaving her guts out. (Not literally.) She coughs and wipes her mouth, then groans and walks over to me,

"You know if you killed me, I wouldn't resent you..." she says with a frown.

I pat her head, "Throwing up is good, it means your body is getting rid of the virus." my words were met with her frowns, but she stays quiet and sits on my bed,

"Why couldn't I get rid of the disease by like eating chocolate or flying?" she asks.

(The story of my life.)

I laugh as she rests her head on my chest. I then check my alarm clock, its 11:30. I pause pondering, (was I supposed to meet someone today?) I turn back to Rainbow Dash, who's lying on her side and moaning,

"Was I supposed to meet someone today?" I ask her. She looks at me quizzically,

"Yeah Rarity. You were gonna' discuss the grand galloping gala or something." she says, then groans and runs to the bathroom again.

"Wait, I already talked to her. Like two days ago." I say. Rainbow Dash finishes throwing up and walks back to my bed where she flops down on it.

"Oh yeah..." she mumbles. I sigh and pat her back, trying to remember what I was supposed to do.

"You didn't have any plans today then." Mumbles Rainbow Dash, her head buried in the blankets.

"Well then, do you need anything?" I ask.

"Ice cream, also can you feed Tank and check my mail?" she asks.

"Sure" I say, getting up and stretching my wings, "I'll be back in a second."

"No you won't cuz' you suck at flying," says the cyan Pegasus, grinning in her own amusement. I ignore her and walk out the front door and take off. Quickly getting my balance. I soar around, trying to spot her house. _(Ah, there it is!)_ I flap my wings and move towards it, occasionally hitting clouds.

A few minutes later, I hit the porch of her house with a loud thud,

"Ow," I say as I stand on her porch. I wander in, and head for her bedroom. Sitting there lazily is Tank, the world's most badass turtle. I walk over and pat his head, while also pouring him some food. He makes a sort of rasping noise and bends down to eat. Suddenly I hear knocking! (Why would someone be at Rainbow Dashes door?) I think as I walk over to it. I open the door and in front of me is a cross-eyed gray Pegasus,

"Oh hey Ditzy." I say with a smile. She looks at me warily,

"What are you doing in Rainbow Dash's house?" she asks.

"Oh I'm feeding Tank." Her eyes narrow,

"Hmm, well I'm deli-ver-ring Rainbow Dash's mail," she says slowly.

"Well that sounds fun!" I say brightly. Her eyes remain narrowed,

"You're not robbing her. Are you?" she asks.

"No not at all!" I say alarmed. Her eyes brighten,

"Ok." she says with a smile and puts the mail in her mailbox. I reach for it, thinking I can just bring it to her at my house. Ditzy slaps my hoof away with a frown,

"Hey! That mail is for Rainbow Dash only!" she says.

"She's staying at my house. I was gonna' bring it to her!" I say.

"Only members . . . of the cloudsdale express mail . . . and the mails owners . . . can handle said mail. I think that's how it goes." she says as if barely able to piece together the limerick.

"Come on Ditzy. I just want to give it to Rainbow Dash. I promise I won't look." I say as I reach for the mail again. Suddenly a mailbag flies into my view and everything goes black!

I open my eyes with a groan. Standing in front of me is Ditzy with a concerned look on her face,

"You ok EKey? Do you need any help?"

I get up and shake my head a few times, "It's ok Ditzy." I say, "I shouldn't have touched the mail."

"I'm sorry," she says quietly.

"It's fine," I say with a smile, "I think I'll just go home."

"Ok!" she says. I then head out of Rainbow Dashes door. I spread my wings and take off, heading directly for my house.

I crash into the ground with a thud. Then get up and dust myself off, hoping no one saw that. I open my door and head inside. Lying on the couch is Rainbow Dash, sleeping. I yawn and crack my neck, feeling the bones pop and reset themselves again. Rainbow Dash mumbles and rolls over, her tail poking out from under the blanket. I grin and walk over to my fridge, grabbing the ice cream and scooping a bowl of it. Rainbow Dash mumbles and rolls back, then sits up and rubs her eyes. She looks over at me and her face brightens,

"Hey." she says quietly. I bring the bowl over and set it down in front of her,

"Hey feeling better?" I ask. She nods and stretches, then picks up and bowl and starts to take bites of the ice cream. I sigh and lean back, happy that she's eating.

"Hey what happened to your head?" asks Rainbow Dash, her mouth full of ice cream. I sit up and look at the mirror, there's a huge bruise, going from my temple to my jawline. I poke it,

"Oh, um, I just hit my head . . . On a flying . . . Cloud rock . . . Yeah a cloud rock." I say, trying to sound confident in my all so _intelligent_ excuse.

"Man I knew you were bad at flying but not that bad!" she says, "No offense."

"None taken," I say with a grin as I walk back to the couch, "I'm awful."

Rainbow Dash laughs and puts down her empty bowl. She then stretches her wings and refolds them, leaning against me as well.

She sits there quietly and sighs,"I love you EKey." she says quietly. (aww) I kiss her gently,

"I love you too Rainbow Dash."

We spend the rest of the day lazing around. Rainbow Dash watches Star Wars and plays angry birds while I practice magic and see how long I can maintain my human form. As of now, I can hold it for 45 minutes before I start to hear that bubbly cracking noise. That noise that meant my soul was about to crack. I sit down on the couch exhausted from straining my soul and Rainbow Dash lies down on my stretched wing, resting the back of her head on my chest,

"So…what's it like, having to fight evil spirits?" she asks.

"Well it's everything I've ever dreamed of!" I reply sarcastically. Rainbow Dash frowns,

"Right. So then it's what causes the new nightmares?"

"Um, no…" I reply, feeling a pit drop in my stomach.

"Well then what we're you mumbling about in your sleep last night?" She asks.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"Last night, you we're mumbling about something taking the town. You also mentioned somepony singing and holding his head." she says her face quickly shifting to a concerned one.

Suddenly it all hits me, my dream last night. Of the tentacled pony which had me captured!

He walked up to me, as I lay there tied up, "Why hello again Equestria Key, did you miss me? I missed you." He says as he embraces me, the tentacles sliding along my back. I shake him off and struggle against my bonds. He laughs,

"There's nothing you can do. You're stuck there, with me!" he says laughing. I groan and hold my head as he vanishes and reappears around the room.

"Go away!" I yell as he continues to teleport. Suddenly he appears behind me, his mouth right by my ear,

"Keep it up, and I'll destroy that town you love." He says softly. I gulp as Ponyville floats into full view; a ring of fire surrounds the city. It slowly grows smaller and closer as I struggle against my bonds.

I stop and so does the ring, the tentacled pony chuckles, "Here, I've brought you a friend." he says as two of his eye tentacles flutter. He grabs my chair and turns it around; in front of me is Fluttershy! Gagged and tied up! He howls with laughter as Fluttershy quietly weeps! I yell and the ring of fire comes closer! The tentacled pony walks over to Fluttershy and hits her! She cries out and spits blood as the tentacle pony laughs.

Then he pauses, "Oh wait, this is the wrong pony…" he says, "I'm sorry, having one eye can make things so hard sometimes."

He closes his eye and Fluttershy vanishes! Only to be replaced by Rainbow Dash! She is hogtied and covered in whiplashes!

She looks at me with pain in her eyes, "Please help me…" She whimpers and the tentacle pony walks over and kicks her. I yell and the ring of fire gets closer, he chuckles and kicks her again. She cries out and falls limp, her eyes wincing in pain. I growl and transform into a human, destroying the bonds and standing up. His eyes narrow as the ring goes closer and closer, burning the outside houses. I yell and run at him, only to pile through a cloud of smoke.

"You're attacks won't work this time!" he yells as he floats around the room. I fire my spells at him, using every single spell I've got until I collapse exhausted. He chuckles and lands on the ground unharmed. I crawl over to Rainbow Dash and hold her as she weeps.

The tentacled pony walks over, "Now, now we can't have any of this!" he says. I ignore him and focus on untying Dash from her ropes, checking her wounds as she fumbles over from exhaustion. She continues to whimper, her muzzle dry and resting on my cheek.

"Well then, if you're distracted, then let me rid you of the distraction!" He yells as one of his tentacles stretches, lashing out and wrapping around Dash's neck, lifting her into the air! I try to reach out and grab at her but he teleports back, still holding the choking Rainbow Dash! He twists his tentacle and her neck makes a snapping noise! She falls limp as he drops her body into my lap! I sit there and stare at him blankly.

"And that's when I woke up!" I say to Rainbow Dash back in my living room. She looks at me horrified,

"That's probably one of the most disturbing dreams you're had…" She says softly. I sigh and rub my temples,

"You know I don't know what I'd do…If that ever happened. I couldn't bear to lose you Dashie..." I say.

"Don't worry, it wouldn't come to that. Because I know you would show up with your spells blazing and your sword ready, and you'd save the day. Like you always do!" She says happily.

"But what if I was late…or I accidentally hit you, or I got lost…" I say as my shoulders droop. Rainbow Dash pats my head,

"I know you wouldn't EKey, you care too much! You would show up on time and save us all!"

"Maybe…still the nightmares aren't helpful."

"Wow…you really need to get that nightmare problem fixed then…" She says slowly. I hug her and she nuzzles my cheek gently,

"Don't worry, I'll never be kidnapped." She says happily, I smile and laugh. She then stretches and yawns, pulling me to my feet. I kiss her cheek and She smiles,

"Maybe tomorrow you can write a letter to Princess Celestia." She says.

"But then she'll tie me up again…' I reply. Rainbow Dash giggles and stretches her small wings, walking into my bedroom. I smile and follow her, grabbing an extra blanket in case it gets cold. She climbs under the blankets and I climb under as well. She smiles softly at me,

"You know, I really do care about you EKey." She says quietly as she rests her head on my chest. She stretches her arm and drapes it over me, I look deep into her rose colored eyes,

"I care about you to Rainbow Dash. More than anything." I reply. She laughs and then groans and runs to the bathroom. A few seconds later, I hear retching and the moaning. I chuckle as Rainbow Dash walks back over to me and lies down again. I put my arms around her and kiss the back of her head. She still smells like peppermint.

_Toronto, Canada: 9:37 Am_

__The man shakes his head,

"I told you to not go overboard with the nightmares! that was messed up!"

"Heh night-mares? Get it? Mares of the night? You know what? Nevermind!" says the tentacled pony.

"So, how long till the gala?"

"Four days. Roughly..."

"So then...think it will go as you predicted?"

"My predictions can't go wrong, seeing as the fact I can see into the future."

"So she's gonna die..."

"Yep. Despair will kill her."

"What about the parents?"

"They're gonna die a few hours earlier." Replies the tentacled pony in a bored monotone. The man shakes his head in sadness,

"Is there any chance?"

"A small one. But it would take a miracle for something to change..."

"So should I warn him this time?" asks the man. the tentacled pony ponders for a second,

"No, not yet. Give it a few days..." He says, "Just so that he doesn't panic and someone gets hurt."

"Alright..." says the man, "Will EKey dream of this conversation?"

"Nope, I decided to let him sleep peacefully tonight."

"Good for you." says the man as he pulls out a package of cookies. The tentacled pony raises his one eye,

"Where do you get those?" He asks casually.

"I'd rather not say." says the man as he starts to eat.

**End of chapter 8:**

**Authors Notes: **Well another chapter edited, fixed up, and shipped out! Or something along those lines. Well in the meantime, good news, part two is almost 90% done and is currently 15 chapters. Only 8 have been uploaded however. What else...oh yeah, my editor James has published the first few chapters of his fic, It's called forlorn hope and is on Fimfiction. Search it up, It's a semi- collaboration with my story (I think) but yeah, it's really good! Also, the deviant art account is up, but my scanner is broke and jury rigging it hasn't done much to help. There is some stuff on there but it's pretty crappy. Just search up anunymau5 on deviantart and you should find it. Also, I apologize for the wait between chapters. They are pretty long (about 10 pages) so I'm probably gonna start to shorten them. So yeah, that's all. Next chapter is...interesting.

**EDIT:** I fixed some spelling errors and just bad phrasing/ plot holes. JAMES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ENWRAPPED ISN"T A WORD! I also fixed the hot coco/toddy mistake. Oh yeah, I also added the conversation at the end. A lot of hardcore foreshadowing there. Don't forget to review, if theres some type or rating thing, use that maybe. Preferably. Hopefully...HUMAN CAROUSEL!


	9. Chapter 9

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By Anunymau5_

Chapter 9: Just another city boy

Equestria, Ponyville: 9:45 AM

I wake up to my bed being jostled about. I sit up only to see Rainbow Dash jumping up and down, "Come on EKey, get up!" she says, quivering with anticipation, "I wanna' go flying!"

I yawn and get out of bed, stretching about as I walk over to my kitchen. I quickly throw together some toast and toss Rainbow Dash a piece whereupon she wolfs it down quickly.

"Well you're feeling better." I say with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash beams, "Yep! But I wanna' go flying! I haven't flown in days!"

"Ok, hold your horses – pun intended. We can go flying, Just let me eat first." I draw out each word slowly as she bounces around the room. Suddenly she runs over to me and jumps on the table, her face inches away from mine.

"We. Can. Play. Pranks. On. People." Dash says dramaticly

I lean forwards and kiss her, making her blush and fall off the table, "Ok!" I say as I put away my plate.

She jumps up and down impatiently. "Jesus Christ! You're worse than Pinkie Pie today!" I comment with another smirk to which she responds with an insulted look.

"I'll get you for that," she says with foreboding fervor.

After I finished up with breakfast, I lead the way outside while enduring Rainbow Dash's comments on how I 'take too long'. I twist my neck and back, hearing a long set of cracks and pops while I concurrently limber up my wings for flight. Rainbow Dash is the first to take off, reaching a high cloud in relative zeal. In response I quickly flutter my wings after Dash. With the wind running alongside my face, I rapidly judge that I am _really_ fast and it takes only moments to catch up with my feathery companion.

Rainbow Dash leans her head to her right, giving me a surprised expression. "That _was_ pretty fast… How did _you_ do that?"

"No idea... maybe me hitting my head had something to do with it," I mused.

Rainbow Dash grabs my head and stares into me, "Maybe it like changed the way you balance or something!" says Rainbow Dash puzzled yet ardently intrigued.

I shrug and soar off again, heading for Ponyville with Rainbow Dash tailing from behind. "Last one to Ponyville is a rotten egg!" I yell through mouthfuls of air.

After a short flight through a copious collection of clouds, I suddenly hear a sharp yell from behind, and I turn around to find Rainbow Dash being swarmed by… something…

"Aaah! Vermites!" she yells as the errant swarm engulfs her. I look closely; they appear to be a hybrid of lice and termites, but branded wings and grown to the size of a small dog. They all swarm around her, making these clicking noises as they begun lunging at her! I bolt towards them with magical flames erupting from my left hoof while I attach my hoof blade on my other.

Rainbow Dash sends a sharp kick into one of the Vermites, but then screams as another bites her back leg! I take no chances and lunge right into the creature with my blade arm pointed towards it! Dark green, viscous fluid sprays out of its wound as it twitches and falls down. I turn around only to have one chomp onto my arm! I put my hoof onto its face and fire my shockwave spell! Its head gets blown open, leaving a pair of oozing pincers in my arm! I turn back to Rainbow Dash who's struggling to get one off of her arm as another latches onto the back of her neck! She yelps and swings around, trying to pull it off! I launch my shockwave spell and hit the creature! Pulling off its thorax and back legs in the process! Another one flies at me, clicking its pincers and twisting its legs! I swing my sword and catch it in the air! Stabbing a hole directly through the creature!

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rainbow Dash rip off the one on her arm. She then turns to fight another with the pincers still lodged in her! I look around and count two more, not including the one Rainbow Dash is fighting. I hit the first with my sword, cutting off its legs and the left half of its head! I then turn and lunge at the other who flies out of the way! I pause and ready my fire spell, feeling my hoof warm up in preparation. I fire the spell and the creature ignites! It makes a hissing noise as its shell crackles from the fire! I fire my shockwave spell to shut it up, shattering the whole creature with a bang!

I sigh as I pull out the pincers in my arm, leaving a small trickle of blood. I then bolt for Rainbow Dash who's landing on a cloud. I touch down beside her and she yelps. I look down at her arm; the one pincer isn't that deep, not much more than a splinter. The other pincer however is deep and judging by the look on her face, painful. I gently lean forwards and bite down on the weaker pincer; however I jostle the second one and she cries out,

"Sorry!" I say, calming her down. I then pull out the first one and her face relaxes for a moment.

I spit out the pincer and reach for the other one, "Look this is gonna hurt." I say as she looks at me with wide eyes. She nods and clenches her eyes shut. I pat her back gently and bite down on the second pincer. She cries out in pain as I pull. At first nothing happens, but then the pincer makes a slight squelching noise and slowly starts to come out. Rainbow Dash squeezes her eyes shut again and her breathing speeds up as the pincer comes out farther. I then pause, leaning back and taking deep breaths.

Rainbow Dash peeks her one eye open and looks at me puzzled, "Sorry, it's just hard to pull that thing out with your teeth. Also this last part is gonna' hurt the most." I say panting. She nods and I grab the pincer. She screams out loud and grabs tightly on my arm as I start to pull again. Finally with a slight squelch, the pincer comes out! I spit it off the edge of the cloud while Rainbow Dash wipes her eyes and continues to sob in pain. Blood flows out so I grab some bandages from one of my pouches. I wrap them around her arm gently and pull it tight. Slowly, she calms down and stops crying. I put my arm around her and hold her as the calms down,

"Thanks..." she says quietly, after crying.

I blink and she rests her head on my chest and starts to trace the design on my arm, "What were Vermites doing in Ponyville?" she says, still tracing the design. I frown as I try to come up with an eloquent answer,

"No idea. What are Vermites anyways?" I ask.

"Some type of bug, likes to follow clouds cuz' there's some nutrient or something in Pegasi that they like." she says as she rolls over to face me. I kiss her gently as she smiles and blushes. After a while, she gets up and stretches her wings,

"Ok let's start flying again." Rainbow Dash hoof pumps as she spreads her wings and takes off. I fly off after her as she starts to speed up. As we fly along I notice familiar faces. Applejack is doing the whole selling apples thing. Rarity is walking along with a bunch of fabric in her saddle bags, and Twilight is talking to Doctor Whooves.

I fly to catch up with Rainbow Dash,"Hey, wanna say hi to Twilight?" I ask. She turns to me,

"Sure lets go!" she says as she bolts for the purple unicorn. I flap after her, noticing that Rarity is now walking over to Twilight. I stop and wait for a familiar cry,

"LOOK OUTTT!" yells Rainbow Dash as she tries to stop. I continue to wait for a familiar crash. when I do hear it, I facehoof and fly down. Rainbow Dash is struggling to get back to her feet underneath a destroyed stall. I touch down and pull her to her feet. She shakes some splinters from her mane and turns sheepishly to the owner. Some green stallion,

"Um...Sorry about that..." she trails off forlornly, hiding behind her hooves.

I toss the shop proprietor a handful of bits, "Here this should be enough to fix the damage." I say. The owner shakes his head and grabs the money, scowling at both of us as we leave. Rainbow Dash giggles and turns to Twilight who's still talking to Doctor Whooves.

"Hi Twilight!" Rainbow says happily.

Twilight turns to us, "Oh hey, done breaking the town?" she pauses and throws a glance towards Dash's arm, "Hey… what happened to your arm?"

"Oh a vermite bit me..." says Rainbow Dash.

I sigh and turn to Twilight, "So when's the Gala?" I ask.

Twilight yelps, "Um three days!" she says anxiously.

Suddenly I hear a scream; I turn around to see Rarity bolting for us,

"Oh this is a DISASTER!" she shrieks.

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes and grabs Rarity's shoulders, "Calm down," she says, "what's the problem?"

"The Gala has been _moved_!" she says anxiously.

"Oh whens it gonna' be?" asks Twilight.

"Not _when_ darling, _where_! It's taking place in Manehatten!" she says.

I exhale and shake my head, "How is this a bad thing?"

"It's a diiirty city, full of criminals! Moving a party with hundreds of respected guests! It'll be a disaster!"

"Well that just seems to be an ugly stereotype...no matter... Manehatten sounds cool! No offense but I'm going a bit stir crazy from these two story houses. I want skyscrapers!" I say sheepishly.

Rarity scowls at me, "It will be a disaster and it's your fault!"

I stagger back, "Wait, when did this become my fault?"

"Your _freakout_ destroyed the throne room! Don't deny it, we were all there!"

"I'm not denying it! They said they fixed it!" I say, raising my voice a little.

"Well apparently your magic can only be undone by its sister reversal spell. It needs to be done manually for each spell. Now I'm not the best at magic, that's Twilight's field but I did notice about two hundred different flashing lights coming from you. Not to mention the beam which split the room in half." she says.

"Hmm... well honestly I'm sorry for breaking the place. But yeah, I still don't see why this is such a big deal." I say.

Rarity huffs and says goodbye then walks away.

"Blow the house down..." I mutter loudly.

I look over at Twilight who's checking Rainbow Dash's bite, "Well Vermite pincers have a fluid in them which numbs that part of the body. It makes it easier for them to get at the nutrients. So you might feel some numbness in your arm and hoof later." she says.

Rainbow Dash nods and shakes her hoof, "Hmm... those bites hurt." she muses and I walk away to buy some food. As I walk I hear Rainbow Dash yell wait and trot up beside me.

I smile and she leans against me, her tail entwining with mine, "So we need to leave tomorrow in order to get to Manehatten on time. I gave Twilight back her headache stuff cuz' she's probably gonna' need it." she says with a giggle.

"Oh lovely, I haven't been on a train here yet." I say as I pick out some bread.

"They're pretty fun, just try not to go in between the cars."

"I'll keep that in mind." I say as I pay for my food. I walk past the market and towards what I have dubbed my favourite tree. We sit down and I start to go through my food. I divide the bread and some cheese between us and start to eat. Rainbow Dash leans against the tree and we discuss the gala, angry birds, movies, and the pros and cons of adopting pets. After eating way too much food, I get up and start walking towards my house. Rainbow Dash also gets up and then flops onto her side with a moan. I turn to her,

"You ok, Dashie?" I ask.

She nods and flies into the air, "My arm and hoof are just numb" she says, waving her bandaged hoof about. I smile and grab her hoof. Putting it in my hooves and examining it.

She looks at me puzzled as I move it in different ways, "Err, what are you doing?"

"Just checking your hoof." I say as I gently stroke her arm, she giggles and lies down.

I continue to examine her arm as she leans against me, "Man I've been to Tartarus and back these days." She says with a weak chuckle. I laugh,

"That's true, you have." I reply. I suddenly look at her arm – it's slightly lighter colored than the rest of her arm.

"Hey what's with the different colour?" I ask.

"Probably cuz' of the venom….." She replies casually.

I keep poking and prodding her arm as she lies down beside me, until she eventually giggles,"Hey that tickles!" she says.

"Hey you got your feeling back!" I say happily as she kisses my cheek.

"Hey remember when we we're talking about that nightmare you had?" she asks.

"Yeah… why?" I ask.

She waves her bandaged hoof, "Well, I was right! Once again you showed up and saved me. I really owe you; I've run up quite a tab haven't I?" She says with a triumphant grin.

"Hey you don't owe me. I'm just being a nice guy… err Stallion." I reply.

She cocks her head, "But don't you see what I'm saying? You're always the nice pony! Your heart is always I the right place!" she says with a kind smile. I feel my cheeks redden and decide to excuse myself before I embarrass myself.

"Wait! Where are you going?" she asks.

"Too pack my stuff. We are leaving tomorrow aren't we?" I reply with false sarcasm. She nods and then flies up into the air,

"I'll go pack as well and then meet you at your place later ok?" she yells as she flies away. I smile and wave before walking towards my house. Feeling very disjointed in my thoughts. (I still need to get coffee.)

Toronto, Canada: 10:37 PM

The man looks around, trying to find himself in the dark,

"Where the hell am I?", he asks softly, his voice echoing in the dark chamber. Sadly, no one replies. At least until a voice appear in his head,

"Hey! Get your head out of that box!" yells the tentacled pony angrily. The man jumps and pulls his head out, shaking the cobwebs from his messy hair,

"What? What's going on?" he asks. The Tentacled Pony sighs,

"How should I know? You shoved your head in a box! Then fell asleep!" replies the one eyed creature. The man groans, his strange dream returning to the back of his mind,

"Well, what do you want?' He asks. The Tentacled pony huffs in frustration,

"Look, could you for once be like, oh hello Eye of Discord. How was your day? Instead of what do you want?" it replies.

"Fine, how was your day?" asks the man, rolling his eyes.

"It was great! I sat around inside Ekey's head and did nothing!" he says happily, "But I actually have some news."

"Despair I take it?"

"Yep! Point for Someone Else! As I was saying, Despair is definitely getting all of his power back on the day of the gala."

"So everything is going as you predicted?"

"No everything is going as I saw!" replies the Tentacled pony angrily.

"Fine, well then what do we do?" He asks.

"You tell Princess Celestia to double her security and stuff like that. Tell her to give Ekey a different name while he's there."

"Alright." says the man as he rolls over, "I hope her death won't stop Ekey."

End of Chapter 9

Authors notes: Well nothing new on deviantart. I don't really know what to say. Well, once again this is building up to the gala. Which is pretty much the turning point in part 2. After that its just like two chapters and the end. No matter, theres still part three. Oh yeah, don't forget to rate and review and alllllll that stuff. Also, I'm rewriting the first three chapters of part one. But they'll probably come out in a week.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By Anunymau5_

Chapter 10: Homeless Ponies!

_Equestria: 4:28 AM_

The low rumble of a deviant airship above was comforting, and it brought me whatever source of entertainment I could find as I took note on the strange transport. Of course, the airship was too far overhead to bring in any real details and my mind wandered back towards the drab concrete pillars that littered the train station's platforms.

"It's way too friggin' early," I say to Rainbow Dash at the train station. She yawns in agreement and leans against me, her head resting on my shoulders. I put my arm around her and stroke her mane. She smiles and closes her eyes as we wait for everypony else.

Soon, the rest of the Mane Six show up with suitcases. Except Rarity who has a small trailer full of clothing racks. She loads it onto the train's storage compartment and lectures a train attendant for a few minutes on how her clothing should be handled. I look over and see Applejack who is yawning, Twilight who appears to be drinking straight from the bottle of headache medicine, Pinkie Pie who is humming a song, and Fluttershy who looks away blushing after I catcht her trailing gaze. I yawn again and Rainbow Dash murmurs something.

I lazily drag my gaze towards our studious bookworm, "Hey Twilight."

"Ohh… hey!" she weakly smiles but appears to sink back into thought.

"Stressed?" I ask.

"You have no idea," she says, forming what could be barely called a 'grin' on her tired mouth. She waves an errant hoof in no apparent direction and slinks back onto one of many nearby concrete pillars. I knew better than to disturb a tired unicorn, let alone Twilight, so I pass the gambit and drop the discussion.

I chuckle and lean back as the low rumble of an approaching train emerges. Rainbow Dash groans and stretches. Her eyes barely opening as the train pulls into view. As the train stops, I spot Spike running towards us with a scroll clenched in his claws, "TWILIGHT, YOU FORGOT TO WAKE ME UP!"

Twilight yelps, "Oh sorry, Spike, I err… didn't mean to forget about you..." Her face glows red as Spike simply shakes the letter around her face.

"Princess Celestia sent us this." Spike forces a cough and unravels the scroll.

"Dear Twilight and friends, I would like to apologize for the disturbances caused by the sudden change in location. As what I hope to be fair compensation, you will not have any duties today or tomorrow.

"As for EKey, I have a special request. Please for your sake, could you go by the name steelwing? After all not many people know about the Equestria Key, let alone that it's active. That coupled with your recent incident against those cult members shows that ponies are out to get you. When you arrive, you will be receiving some small modifications to help disguise you.

"Well I hope you have fun on your trip here. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."

Spike clears his throat and then walks over to Twilight. Twilight however continues to gape, "We don't have any duties?" her brows furrow, "But that means she's found someone else to do them! This means she's found someone better than me! She's gonna' hate me and then I'm gonna fail her class and get sent back to pony kindergarten!"

Spike snorts, "I doubt that.." he says as he gets on the train.

Applejack and Fluttershy follow him, laughing. Rarity goes to the other car to check on her luggage. Twilight sighs and walks onto the train. Pinkie Pie runs over and grabs Rainbow Dashes hoof, "Come on get up Dashie!" she says excitedly, "we're going on a train!"

Rainbow Dash moans and throws her arms around me, "I'm not getting up! I'm staying here forever!" I sigh and get up, "Nooo stay!" she says, groping for me.

I laugh and grab her hoof, "Come on up you go." She moans, but she was quick to comply. She then leans against me as we walk onto the train. I sit down in one of the seats and plop Rainbow Dash next to me, pulling my one wing around her, letting her lean against me with her arm hugging me tightly. She closes her eyes again and emits a small sigh. In the background I can hear Applejack saying "aww" and I feel my face turn red. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

...

I wake up, yawn, and look over at Rainbow Dash who is still nestled against me with her head on my shoulder. I gently push her hair away from her face and stroke her side. She smiles again and nuzzles my cheek and then drifts back to sleep. I yawn and pull out my mp3 player and set it to my 'not awful music' playlist. As I quietly listen to bad remixes of bad songs, the blind Pegasus despair floats into my mind, along with the dancing pony. I shake my head a few times and Rainbow Dash mumbles. I throw her my attention and she fades back into a deep sleep. I then look over at everypony else who is also sleeping. I stretch my other wing and refold it, putting my one arm around Rainbow Dash again and closing my eyes, letting the music fill my brain and all that pretentious music loving shit.

...

"Hello, EKey, did you miss me?"

I blink. I'm standing in a white room. My arms are bound in a strait jacket.

The tentacled pony walks up to me, "Don't tell me you didn't miss me! That just hurts my feelings!" It says as it embraces me.

I shake and pull away. it frowns, "Now you don't want me to take over and trash the place again?" it asks mockingly. I shake my head,

"Please what do you want?" I ask.

It laughs. "Power, your power, money, everything. The usual villain's list of needs… but mostly back when I had a body, I wanted to be ruler of Equestria again. Now my primary wish is to stop my siblings," it intakes a deep breath, "and You're gonna' help me!"

"EKey EKey Ekey wake up!" it yells mockingly, then sighs and facehoofs, "Your friends are trying to wake you up or something."

"Oh." I yawn, "Didn't you alreaqdy tell me this?"

"Maybe but having one eye...wait that doesn't make any sense...crap. Um lets just pretend I didn't already tell you most of this."

It sighs again and holds its head, "Wow, that blue one really wants you to wake up. I suppose I should be nice and let you wake up. After all having you sleep forever is rather useless to my cause." he says. His one eye glows.

And I sit up with a yell!

Rainbow Dash looks at me with wide eyes,"What happened?" she asks as she grabs me in a tight hug.

"I guess I overslept." I say with a small smile. Rainbow Dash pulls away from the hug and kisses me. I shake my head a few times and look over at everyone else, especially towards Twilight, whose quill is writing… something.

I sigh and hug Rainbow Dash again. She looks at me concerned and mouths, "are you ok?"

"I'll tell you later." I say, keeping a wary eye on Twilight.

Rainbow Dash stretches, "Steelwing, pretty cool name huh?"

"Yeah, I think I like it more than the Equestria Key!" I say, laughing.

She punches me playfully on the shoulder, "I like your name." I grin and she leans against me, plucking my mp3 player from my hooves and loading up angry birds. I watch in awe as she gets every throw perfect every swing hits the exact mark. I stare unblinkingly as she gets three stars after three stars. (Man, she is good at this game!) I think as she beats another world. She looks up at me and grins.

"Damn your good!" I say. We then spend the rest of the trip playing angry birds and talking about the gala.

When the train stops, I look outside. It looks like a 1940's new york! Giant skyscrapers and old train lines dot the city. At the centre is the Princess Park (named after Celestia and Luna according to Twilight.) I once again find myself drooling as we grab our suitcases and meet the security out front. Two of them grab me by my arms and start to drag me off to a different room while the others are ushered into the lobby.

"Well see you guys later!" I yell with a grin. The guards drag me into a small grey room. Inside the room are several bottles, a bag, and a Pegasus mannequin with a set of wing armour – reeeally badass wing armour.

I turn to the guards. "So why am I here?"

"Use the stuff, the bottles are mane and coat dyes. In the smaller bottle is a pair of contacts for your eyes and inside the bag are horseshoes and some material for an artificial cutie mark." he says his entourage leaves. I pause as I look through the dyes.

Half an hour later, I'm drying my dark red mane, and choosing green contacts to replace my gold eyes. I also cover the runes on my arm with grey dye. I rifle through the horse shoes and pick a set that are silver with four studs around the ankle part. I decide to have my cutie mark be a black star because it looks pretty cool. After that, I turn to the wing plates. They wrap around the joints and then cling on to base of my wings themselves. I tie down the straps and try them out. Heavy, but comfortable, and they look ridiculously badass! I walk towards the door and knock. The door opens and in front of me is Princess Celestia!

"Er, hi, Princess." I stammer.

She smiles, "Hello EKey. I see that you have disguised yourself."

"Um yeah."

"Good, I need you to not tell anyone who you are. Keep the name 'Steelwing' and tell the others to call you that as well. I'm afraid that there have been reports of ponies out for your blood."

"Yeah, I stopped those cult ponies."

She frowns. "Not just the cult ponies. Rumor has it that a gang of assassins were recruited by an anonymous bidder, but they don't know where you are. I hope it stays that way." she says.

I gulp. "But then why did you ask me to come here?"

"Because I wanted you to have fun and meet other ponies. I also wanted to tell you something about Discord."

"Ok..."

"Discord's body was destroyed by you. However his spirit wasn't. It now resides in your brain through the eye of Discord which he infected the vessel with before your soul was attached to it. He also resides in this," she says as her horn glows. A half foot long grey spike materializes into view. "This is the last fragment of Discords body. The majority of his power is now contained in this spike, however if it were to be destroyed, his power would flood into you and he would take over your body and mind, converting it into a new body for him. The eye of Discord however which was what made you destroy the throne room is repressed by you is it not?" she asks, "As in you haven't had any nightmares?"

"Well none of the ones like before. But I have been having dreams about the tentacled pony, I.E., the Eye of Discord."

"Hmm well as long as they stay dreams when you sleep then we shouldn't have any more problems. Now I need to see preparations and you need to see Rainbow Dash and everypony else. Also if people ask, say you're a member of a special branch of the royal guard." she says as she walks out of the room. I sigh and rub my temples imagining a tiny tentacled pony living in my skull drinking a cup of tea. Then I put my coat back on and walk outside. The two guards nod as I walk past them.

I climb out of the elevator and look for Rainbow Dashes room. (Room 226 I believe.) I walk towards it, hearing humming from inside. I knock and the humming stops,

"Who is it?" asks a familiar raspy voice.

"It's me." I call out. The door opens and Rainbow Dash looks at me puzzled,

"Who the heck are you?" she asks.

I facehoof. "It's me EKey." I whisper. She looks at me and I open my coat, showing her my scars. Her eyes brighten,

"Oh, hey! Nice disguise!" she says brightly as she circles me, "Wow I like the mane colour. I don't see the point of the steel wings or the fact that your fake cutie mark is now fading… but otherwise good job."

I pull off the wing armour and look at my cutie mark. Indeed it is fading away. I sigh and rub the rest of it off, "Guess it's just different eyes and mane."

Rainbow Dash giggles,"So do you have a hotel room yet?" she asks.

"Nope!" I reply.

Rainbow Dash hugs me. "Well you're staying with me. Steelwing." she says with a smirk.

I laugh. "Hey what time is it?" I ask.

"Mid-afternoon, why?"

"I'm hungry. Wanna' walk around Manehatten?" I ask.

Her face brightens. "Sure, let's go!" she says bolting out the door. I trot after her chuckling.

I stand outside in the grimy city. Carriages roll by as ponies and Pegasi alike shuffle along the streets wearing coats. I turn to Rainbow Dash who's trotting down the street. I decide it would probably be a good idea to follow her.

I walk after her, still staring at the buildings and not noticing when I collide with a unicorn. "Hey watch it, amigo!" he says with a thick Spanish accent.

I stand up and pull him to his feet. "Oh sorry sir, I didn't see where I was going."

He looks at me and laughs. "…'Sir'? Man, you ain't from around here huh?"

"No, I'm from Ponyville." I reply.

He chuckles,"Ponyville huh? Heard good things about that place."

"Yeah it's pretty nice." I reply.

"Hmm... well then, you seem familiar."

"I don't think we've met." I say slowly.

"Ah, maybe not. I'm pretty high right now." he says.

I do a double take. "Wait what?"

"Yeah I was trying out a new type of spiced salt lick. Good stuff, want some?" he asks.

"Er, no, I'm fine." I say.

He frowns. "Thought so, you seem like two much of a good guy."

"Hey, HURRY THE HAY UP!" yells another voice. I turn around to see a bright neon green earth pony with no mane.

The first guy sighs, "Dear Celestia when will you stop moaning!" he yells back.

I turn back to Rainbow Dash who's walking over to me puzzled, "Who's this?" she asks.

"Um this is..."

"Martin, nice to meet you," says the unicorn, "and this is my brother of another mother, Siren Stars."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Steelwing."

(So the one guys got a more Equestria like name but the other guys named martin?) I think as I shake Siren's hoof.

Siren chuckles and turns to Rainbow Dash,"And who is this beautiful Pegasus?" he asks smoothly.

Rainbow Dash blushes, "I'm Rainbow Dash! The fastest flyer in Equestria!" she says proudly.

He smiles, "Ah, many have claimed to be that. What makes you think you are better?" he asks.

Rainbow Dash blinks a few times, "Er...Well I've won a bunch of awards. Oh and I can do a Sonic Rainboom!" she says proudly.

Siren chuckles, "Oh cool… well what are you two up to?"

"Well we're looking for a place to eat!" she replies.

"Huh well Siren and I have to go meet with some other ponies but there's a reaaaallllyyy good restaurant nearby." he says.

"Oh, um… ok..." I say

"Ok, let's go!" says Rainbow Dash as they walk down the street. I sigh and shake my head as hundreds of dangerous situations flood my mind. I trot to catch up with Rainbow Dash and she entwines her tail with mine, martin chuckles,

"Ah two lovebirds eh?" he says casually. I laugh and Rainbow Dash blushes an untwines her tail. (awww) I think as I continue down the street. Martin pauses as though he's about to recite a poem and turns to me, a strange grin appearing on his face,

"Wanna go to a show?" he asks.

"What kind of show?"

"You know… a show for stallions, involving mares." he says, a twinkle appears in his eye.

(Oh Christ, he wants me to go to a strip club) screams the dark recesses of my brain. I stammer out my words, "Um… err...I don't know. I'm not really into that kind of thing.."

Rainbow Dash looks at me puzzled and mouths, "what's he talking about?"

I shrug and turn to Martin who has a look like he just lost a chess game, "Eh alright. I guess it's just the restaurant then." he says as he turns around and heads up the street. I follow him with a sigh wishing I wasn't here. We continue deeper into the city. It gets greyer and greyer as more smoke fills the city. Just as I'm about to complain, Martin stops.

"We're here." he says, "Last chance Mr. Steelwing."

"I'll be fine thank you." I reply with a smile. He sighs and gestures to the door. Rainbow Dash trots in and I follow behind her, waving to Martin. He waves back and continues farther down the street.

I walk into the small restaurant and get seated by a young unicorn, most likely the owner's son. He also seats Rainbow Dash who giggles. Soon he brings us a pair of menu's. I look down at the long list of unfamiliar dishes. (Corn spiced tofu sticks, pepper mushroom noodles, carrot apple stew, what the hell are these things?) I think. I look up and see Rainbow Dash staring at me,

"Try the spiced hay fries and potatoes. Trust me, you'll like them." she says, tapping the item on my menu. I nod and then move onto the drink menu. (I think I'll get a strawberry smoothie). I think as my eyes wander down the drink list. I look up at Rainbow Dash who's now asking our waiter for the pepper mushroom noodles and a chocolate milkshake. I ask for the spiced hay fries and potatoes.

After the delicious meal, during which we discussed...something. (I honestly have no idea what it was), I paid and we walked back outside.

"So how do we get back to the hotel?" asks Rainbow Dash.

My heart stops.

"Um I don't know..." I say slowly.

Rainbow Dash chuckles, "I know you don't know. I was just bugging you. Follow me." she says and walks down the street. I chuckle and trot after her.

Half an hour later, we wander through another alley. Stepping over some garbage and boxes,

"So what happened to 'I know where to go?' hmm?" I ask coyly as Rainbow Dash nervously giggles.

"Um it should be around here..." she says.

"What should be around here?"

"Um… a street?"

"We're in a city. It's mainly comprised of buildings and streets."

"Right, well this should be the right street."

"Well maybe you'll be lucky." I mutter as Rainbow Dash sticks her tongue out at me. I pat her as we turn the corner and find ourselves facing a dead end.

I facehoof. "Dammit. Let's try again." I say as we turn back.

"WAITTT!" yells a voice behind me. I turn around to find a unicorn climbing out from under garbage bags. I stare at him as he pulls a bag off his shoulder and fixes his tattered hat. He's homeless and old.

"I know you..." he says quietly. His one pupil is bigger than the other and stares at me with a strange degree of intensity. (You're making a mistake) pops into my head and I grin,

"I don't think that's true." I reply.

Rainbow Dash walks next to me, "What do you want with Steelwing?" she asks defensively.

"Oh but that's not your name is it EKey?" he says with a smirk.

My heart stops, "How did you know my name?" I ask.

"Well now I definitely do." he replies. Rainbow Dash gets into a defensive stance,

"Who are you, pal?" she says aggressively.

"Just a simple observer." he says. Suddenly I am reminded of the guy in Toronto. He continues to stare at me while Rainbow Dash clenches her teeth and snorts.

"How do you know me?" I ask.

"I've heard about you. From an old rival of mine." he says, "Come with me. I need to tell you something."

He grabs my hoof and drags me to an old drainage tunnel. The gate has been ripped off and he climbs inside.

"Woah, I'm not going in a sewer." I say as Rainbow Dash trots up beside me, still keeping a wary eye on my homeless companion.

"Don't worry, it's not dangerous," he says, "Trust me."

"Trust you? I barely know you!" I yell.

He grins, "Well then, I suppose you will just have to leave then." he yells back. I sigh and rub my temples to counter the impending headache. Rainbow Dash looks at me, concerned.

"I'm fine," I mutter as I turn back to the homeless guy,

"Fine I'll come with you!" I yell as I climb into the hole.

He backs up, his face becoming obstructed by shadows, "Good."

I turn to Rainbow Dash who's clearly concerned, "Um what are you doing?" she hisses as she trots over to me.

"Following this guy..." I say.

"Why?"

"No idea..." I reply as Rainbow Dash climbs in after me. The sewer is dark and gross, with moss on the walls and creaky rusty walkways along the sides. I gulp as I go farther into the dim tunnels.

Behind me, I hear Rainbow Dash shudder, "Ew."

I turn around, walking backwards now, "I thought you liked these kinds of things." I say

She looks back at me. "Yeah sewers aren't my thing." she says nonchalantly before walking ahead of me. I turn back around, lest I fall and yell ahead towards the homeless pony,

"Hey, where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe!" he yells back before cackling and speeding up.

I start to trot after him. "You know, you remind me of this homeless guy from my dreams. Except, he has nightmares about a tentacled pony just like me." I call out as I trot after him.

He stops and faces me, "Wait, is he human like you?" he asks, his eyes narrowing and his voice turning threatening.

"Er yeah... why?" I ask, feeling very cold all of a sudden. I put a protective arm around Rainbow Dash, who shivers.

"He knows you. Which means he's gonna' come get meeee! Him and his little friends! He's inside you! He's inside your head! That means he can see me! Leave me alone you monster! I HATE YOU!" he screams as he swings at me! I duck and get ready for a fight. However he instead darts for Rainbow Dash who swings around and bucks him in the face! He stumbles back, holding onto his bleeding snout. Then turns and begins to run at top speed, his horn glowing with energy. I stand up and start to run after him only to be pulled back!

I turn around to see Rainbow Dash holding onto my tail with her mouth, "Just leave him!" she says through clenched teeth. I nod and she lets go of my tail. I turn to the glow of the unicorn as he runs away, still screaming.

"Hes inside of him!"

Suddenly, there's an explosion of light. I fall back onto my rump as I shield my eyes. Beside me, I hear Rainbow Dash yelp as she hits the ground as well. I stand up and rub my eyes and look around. The place seems to be the same, and then the lights flicker...and die out. The tunnels are plunged into pure darkness as I fumble around,

"Agh! What happened?" I yell, hitting a wall.

"EKey, Where are you?" asks Rainbow Dash. I rub my arm and set the runes so they glow. Using their dim light, I can make out Rainbow Dash who's standing about three feet away. I get up and trudge over to her, putting a hoof on her back. She jumps and wheels around, but calms when she recognizes me,

"Ohmycelestia, you scared me!" she says. I chuckle and sit down. Rainbow Dash stands there for a second, "So what now?"

"I have no idea..." I reply. She nods in agreement and sits down beside me, resting her head on my chest. I decide it's time to ask her something that had been nagging in the back of my mind,

"Rainbow Dash, why are you so affectionate?" I ask casually. She looks up at me with wide eyes,

"Why is that a bad thing?" she asks nervously. I brush her mane,

"Not at all, just curious." she pauses and strokes her chin/muzzle

"Hmm...Well, I guess it's because you're one of the few ponies I've ever loved? Er like, I loved my mom. But then she died and I love my friends. But like in a different way. I don't really know, I guess you just brought out the affectionate side of me. Yeah I guess you're just one of the few ponies I don't always need to show off to." she says slowly. I let her words sink in,

"Hmm" I reply.

"Is it a bad thing?" she asks.

"No not at all. It's quite cute to be honest."

"Hmm well I do like hugging you, your coat is all soft like a cloud… and you're warm and nice… and comforting. You're also kind of err, squishable?" she says.

"Squishable?"

"As in, it's fun to hug you tightly. I don't know why, I just like hugging you." she says as she rests her head on my chest again.

I feel my cheeks turn into a smile and I kiss Rainbow Dash on the forehead, "I can live with that, now how about we leave?" I say.

"And how will we do that?" she replies.

"I'll punch a hole in the ceiling and we can leave through that!" I say.

"Yeah I can think of a thousand better ideas."

"Stand back," I say as I ready my ground laser spell.

Rainbow Dash facehoofs and chuckles. "Yeah this is a really bad idea. Even by my standards..." she says.

I smirk as the ground cracks and pushes upwards. Barely able to contain the massive amount of raw energy underneath, "And let the fireworks begin!" I yell. Suddenly I am blinded again by another flash of light! Flying in front of me, is Princess Celestia!

"Cancel out that Spell, Equestria Key. _Now_!" she says sternly. My mind races as I cool down the spell, absorbing the energy into my arm. She touches down in front of me, her horn still glowing,

"Now what did I tell you about using magic?" she says sternly.

"Don't?" I reply sheepishly.

"If you needed help escaping, then simply call out for me, I would have helped you!" she says. I feel my arm growing warmer from all the excess energy. I look over at Rainbow Dash who's trying not to laugh,

"Also EKey, next time don't follow crazy homeless unicorns into the sewers. You put both yours, and Rainbow Dash's life, in jeopardy."

"I'm sorry," I say sheepishly as my arm goes warmer. I look down at it and its glowing blue! My entire arm!

Celestia looks down at my arm with understanding. "Hmm, well then, I should probably take you somewhere remote so you can release your magic." she says as her horn glows again. (That's what she said? Shut up pervy mind!) I think as she taps her horn against my forehead.

...

I get up with a groan after puking my guts out. "Why did that teleportation feel different than the last time you teleported me?" I ask as I wipe my mouth.

Princess Celestia sighs. "Sorry I teleported both you and Rainbow Dash to two different locations at the same time. I'm afraid it was a bit unstable."

I nod and look around, I'm in a giant empty green field. There is literally nothing except a few mountains far in the distance, "Er where am I?"

"You're far away from Manehatten. The nearest city would be Coltopolis. I wouldn't suggest going there. If you're not stabbed in the first five minutes, then the diseases you get from the air will kill you." I shake my head in bewilderment and prepare my laser spell. I put my hoof on the ground, adding the excess magic to the spell. The ground changes from glowing blue to black! Then explodes!

Turns out dirt can hold a lot less magic than stone. I get back to my feet (honestly, I need to start keeping a tally for the number of times I've been rag dolled!) I think as Princess Celestia trots over. I look at my still firing spell, the beam of black energy that continues to pierce the skyline. Finally after a few seconds, it dies down. I walk over to the crater and notice spikes of shiny black rock sticking out of the ground. I walk to one of the spikes and poke it, nothing happens. Princess Celestia scans them with some type of magic. "Appears to be some form of obsidian. Its harmless, probably was formed by the intense heat and pressure of your spell." she says. I break off a few spikes and grab some of the obsidian pebbles lying on the ground. (I wonder if Dashie would like these?)

I walk back to Princess Celestia. "Ok I'm ready to go back to the hotel." I say. She nods and her horn glows again while I get ready to run for the toilet as soon as I open my eyes.

I open my eyes and find myself not wanting to throw up, "Can't get sick, my ass." I mutter as I wander into our hotel room. The room is empty. I toss the stones into my suitcase,

"Right then." I say as I sit down on the couch and think rationally. Or some shit like that.

Soon I hear pounding hoofsteps and the door bursts open, "EKey, Deadhorse and Dj Texic are having a concert and Soarin' might be there!" yells Dash excitedly as she grabs my hoof, "Come on let's go!"

I stand and trot after her as she runs down the hallway,

"Wait, did you say 'Deadhorse'?"

"Yeah Deadhors3." she spells it out for me. I grin as I learn of a new connection between our worlds.

**End of chapter 10**

**Authors Notes: **Well I split chapter 10 into two parts because it was huge. So there's still gonna be a bit of a wait before the gala chapter. Sorry. But in good news, Elwynn13 is writing a fic that takes place in my fic. But farther north and a little ways into the future (about a year). So it looks pretty cool. Y'all should read it.


	11. Chapter 11

The Equestria Key

_Toronto, Canada: 9:30am_

The man leans against the alley's wall. His breath coming out in clouds as he pulls out a small bottle with shaking hands. From the bottle, he takes a pill from it and swallows it, and feels the voices fade away. He sits down and starts to draw in the dirt.

"There's two left. EKey is infected with the eye, yet has control of it. Discord however has partially fused with the eye and has mutated it. Resulting the eye being capable of complex thought. Which is why it also has Discords beliefs. Discord is now equally divided between the shard and the eye. His physical body however has been permanently destroyed. EKey is in Manehatten getting prepared for the gala tomorrow. At the same time, Despair and Destruction are both still recuperating. Discord woke them early and as a result, they both have almost no power. The guardian is still inactive at this point. Rainbow Dash is okay and her scars are fading. EKey is now completely healed due to the vessels extreme metabolism and his healing magic which is running all the time. His soul has now repaired itself after his battle against Discord. The cult ponies are destroyed and there is little left to attack EKey. Maybe the Zebras or the Friffin empire could set up something however they are busy with economic issues and revolutions respectively. I have yet to find the status of EKey's family, however Rainbow Dash's father still hasn't given up in meeting her. EKey has now been in Equestria for three months... I honestly don't know what next in stock," he says as he finishes his elaborate diagram.

_Equestria, Manehatten, 9:30pm_

I walk down the dim streets of Manehatten with Rainbow Dash at my side. She's buzzing with excitement to see Deadhors3 and I'm excited to see this universe's version of Deadmau5. I find it to be strangely comforting. Like a small piece of home has followed me, besides all the stuff I've summoned that is. Above me, pegasi zoom by, I also hear a rumbling noise to my left. I look over there, trying to locate the source of the strange noise. There's nothing around. I sigh as I tell the worried part of me to please shut the hell up! Rainbow Dash continues to trot ahead, oblivious to whats happening.

I continue towards the concert when a question pops into my head, "Hey, Rainbow Dash? I've got kind of a weird question."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you think I'm insane?"

"Er...well no? Like, you're a headstrong maniac sometimes. But I don't think you're insane, a bit crazy. But all the best ponies are." she says with a strange grin, "Now, I have a question for _you_. Well kinda, you see you still haven't really told me about your past."

"Haven't I?"

"Not really. Like I know you we're in your last year of...is it upschool?"

"I think you mean high school."

"Yeah, you had just turned 18, right?"

"Yep. My birthday was three days before I woke up here."

"Uh huh. Oh, and you also told me about how you don't remember your name."

"Yeah that's true. I think I just got brain damage or something... I do like EKey though, and Steelwing even more!"

"Hey! Stop saying that! I like EKey and I think you should keep that as your name!" she says in mock anger.

"Alright..."

"Yay! Now tell me about yourself."

"Er...well, I grew up in a city called Toronto. It's in Canada. I had a mom: Sara...something and a father: Troy...something. My two best friends were Francisco Michaels and Evan Spring. I lead a fairly generic and boring life. That is until I woke up here..." I finish with a sad smile. Rainbow Dash looks at me,

"Wow, buzzkill..." she says quietly. I burst out laughing, earning many stares from passersby, and hug her. She smiles and hugs me back,

"I still think you're a nice pony." she says, "and look- we're here!"

"And we aren't lost!" I reply with a smirk as Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. In front of us is a small bar-esque place with "Now presenting DJ-Pon3, Dedhors3, And DJ Texic." (With the spelling errors.) I chuckle at the sign as we walk into an extremely loud and crowded room. I look around at the bar's patrons, not expecting to find someone like Soarin' here. At the front is a electric blue unicorn with yellow stripes on his back legs and neck. He has a bright orange mane, with a picture of a skull on his side.

(I take it he's Deadhors3). He finishes his song and picks up a mic.

"Okay, next up we've got Dj Texic playing Celestia Sleeps," he says as another Unicorn walks up, this one with a neon green coat, a black mane with red streaks, and a record cutie mark. I grin as he starts playing the music. Reminiscent of a similarly titled song from earth. I listen in and shuffle my feet a bit. However, a few feet in front of me, Dashie's rocking out like there's no tomorrow. Which also ironically happens to be the name of their next song. I look over at the bar, noticing an orange-yellow Pegasus there. (Hmmm...) I think as I slowly and casually make my way over there.

My guessing is correct, for it appears to be Soarin'- the wonderbolt Dashie so desperately wanted to see. I casually wander over and sit down next to him, he looks up at me, puzzled.

"You wouldn't be Soarin by any chance, would you?" I ask.

Soarin turns to face me. "Yeah that's me. Lemme guess, you want my autograph?"

"Actually, no. I'm not a wonderbolt fanboy." I reply.

"Any other time, that statement would have slightly offended me. But honestly I'm sick of writing my name. Seriously, you know how when you say a word over and over again, it starts to sound weird? The same applies to writing your name!" He says with a small grin, "Now why are you actually here?"

"Well you know Rainbow Dash, right?"

"Know her? Bro, she's sent me so many letters. You have no idea. They have a truck just for me now! What about her, she dead?"

"No, not at all. Actually, she's right over there and she wants to say hi."

"Oh cool, alright. Well, bring her over," he says as he takes a swig of his drink. I grin and slowly make my way through the crowd towards Rainbow Dash. I reach her and she's dancing with a huge smile,

"This song is awesome!"

I grab her. "Hey, Soarin' wants to talk to you!" I yell back.

Her eyes grow wide. "Soarin'? Where is he!" She says excitedly. I grab her hoof and drag her out of the crowd. Once she sees Soarin, she lets go and bolts for him.

"!" she says excitedly as he extends a hoof. She grabs it and shakes it, "Hi!"

"Hey," he replies. I decide to go out for some fresh air while they chat. The music is giving me a headache. A bit too loud for my likes. I stand in the cool air and rest my head, only for a stabbing pain to shoot through it!

"Hello, EKey..." a voice says.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" I groan.

"Now that isn't nice!"

"Seriously, leave me the fuck alone!" I yell.

"I'm afraid I can't. You think I like being stuck here, watching you make out with that pegasus! I'm stuck so I'd best do what I can."

"So what do you want this time?"

"Okay, first off: call me Discord's eye... or Nevermind."

"Fine, 'Discord's Eye'! Now what do you want!"

"I wanted to give you some advice. Seeing as the fact the main reason we are here is because of me."

"And here I thought it was my fault..."

"Shut up. Now as you recall, when I took over, I had some fun. Clearly, judging by the damage I caused, I am much more talented with magic. Not only that, but since I am using your body, I won't be hindered by pain and such. So if, you're ever in a sticky situation- don't forget I can always help."

"Right, I doubt that..."

"You don't think I want to destroy my siblings as well?"

"Yeah, I think that as soon as you take over, you'll just give me to them. Like a lamb for the slaughter."

"Listen EKey. I despise my brethren. Them and their pretentious advanced magic. They always looked down on me. No matter what I did, I couldn't appease them. They wouldn't even let me have the same body as the locals. Instead choosing to trap me in that horrible body! I hate my siblings, EKey. I want to kill them just as much as you do. Speaking of which, why do you want to kill them?"

"Because I don't want to see Rainbow Dash get hurt... I don't want to see my friends die."

"Oh how noble of you. The knight in shining armour. Here to save the day!"

"Okay, I'm done talking to you."

"Well I'm not done with you. Don't forget what I said."

"Yeah I doubt that's possible..."

"You never know." says the Eye of Discord. I sigh and another arc of pain rolls across my temples! I hold my head and with a yell, I fall onto my knees!

"Steelwing, are you ok?"

I look up to see Rainbow Dash standing above me, "Oh um, I fell over and"– I sigh – "nevermind."

She sits down next to me. "What happened?"

"Just another insanity problem..." I say. Rainbow Dash looks at me, concerned. "These are becoming more common."

"Yeahh..."

"So, what are we gonna do about it?"

"_We_?"

"Yeah, I care about you EKe– Steelwing, and I don't want to see you get hurt! I love you Steelwing and I'm worried that these nightmares are gonna pull us apart!"

"Don't worry, it won't." I say reassuringly.

Rainbow Dash nods and pokes the dirt. "Wanna go home? Like to the hotel?"

"Yeah sure. We need to get up early tomorrow for the Gala." I say with an air of mock pompousness. She chuckles and walks beside me,

"That, and I'm tired." she says, "Okay, I'll make you a deal. You talk to the Princess, and I won't wake you up by pouring cold water on you."

"Hmm, if you did that, you would be kicked out."

"Horseapples..." she mutters, "Well then"

"Don't worry, I will." I say.

"Yay! Because it is a bit alarming..." she says.

"Tell me about it." I say, "Alright, as soon as we reach the hotel, I'm gonna talk to her."

"Okie dokie!" she says.

I look up at the now pitch black sky. "Think she's still awake?"

"Well, probably. She is overseeing the setup of the grand galloping gala."

"Yeah and if she's not there, I'll just talk to Luna."

"Oh yeah, you could!" She says. I yawn and start to flap a bit above her.

"Hey get down from there!" Yells a voice. I look over and see a Earth Pony in a blue uniform. Oh boy, Cops.

"I'm so sorry, officer, I had no idea I wasn't allowed to do that!" I say, putting on a bad expression of innocence.

"Right I bet, now whats your name?"

"Steelhoof...crap, I mean Steelwing."

His eyes narrow. "Sure it is, filly. Alright, you're coming with me!"

I hear a snicker behind me. The cop turns to Dashie,

"You too missy, I expect you're just as a part of this as your coltfriend here!" He barks. Rainbow Dash gulps, her face turning lightly pink.

"I'm sorry, what are we in trouble for?" I ask.

"There was a robbery a few blocks away. You two are acting suspicious, so I'm arresting you as suspects!" He says.

I groan. "Well it wasn't us."

"Likely story. Now come on with me." he says as he clicks his tongue. I fall into step beside him with Rainbow Dash looking at me nervously. She nuzzles my side to get my attention, I smirk and her eyes widen.

"You know, colts these days. You ponies have no respect for your elders. You just go around thinkin' you own the place. Well here's a newsflash dummy! You're just making yourself look stupid. Honestly, do you really think you're gonna look cool with that dyed main? Missus Rainbow Face?" he asks staring at Dashie. She hangs her head. I start to feel pissed,

"Hey back off!" I say with a slight growl.

"Whaddya' gonna do about it? Attack me? You couldn't hurt a fly!"

"Just stop, okay?"

"Hey! Don't tell me what to do! You're under arrest! So I suggest you shut up and keep walking!"

"And what happens if I don't?" I ask menacingly, stopping in my tracks.

He chuckles and pulls out some glowing rod, "I'll make you..." He says quietly swinging the rod. It emits dangerous sparks and I grin. Rainbow Dash looks at me pleadingly.

"Yeah that doesn't scare me." I say. He growls and swings at me! I duck, feeling the rod just burn the top of my mane. I needed a haircut anyways. I roll to the left, feeling all my runes warm up. He turns and with a half flip, swings at me again! This time, I roll over his swing and fall to my right, firing my shockwave spell! It hits him and he's flung back into an alley, hitting the ground with a loud thud!

He gets up and raises his hoof, "Get that colt cuddler!" He screams as more cops come around the corner! I grab Rainbow Dashes hoof and start to run! She speeds up and pulls me around a corner, into a nearby alley. Throwing me into a pile of garbage bags! I open my mouth to protest but she dives on top of me and puts her hoof over my mouth,

"Shut up!" she hisses as she pulls the garbage bags on top of us. She then lies down on top of me. I look at her puzzled, but she puts a hoof to her lips. I listen intently but only hear her faint panting, then voices.

"Think they went this way?"

"They obviously did. It's just a matter of where they went after that."

"Oh yeah. Hey, maybe they're hiding in the alley?" My heart stops at these words and clearly so does Dashie's. She freezes with a look of terror on her face and buries her muzzle into my chest to quiet her breathing.

"Nah, where would they hide?"

"Under the garbage bags?"

"it's dirty. Besides we also have to attend to the other officer. He was hurt pretty bad by that steelflank guy..."

"Oh snap, then lets get back!"

"Alright..." says the voice as the two guards walk away. Rainbow Dash sighs in relief and hugs me, appearing to deflate before my eyes,

"I hate running from the police." she says with a grimace.

"Wait, so you've done this before?"

"Well when I used to hang out with Gilda, we got arrested for pranking ponies and messing with the weather. Well we got chased by the guard, not arrested." she says with a somber chuckle.

I grin, "Some day huh?"

"Some day." she says as she stares at me intently. I raise an eyebrow and she blushes, as she leans forwards and kisses me.

"How about we just head back towards the hotel..." she says quietly. I nod in agreement and get to my feet, pulling Rainbow Dash up as well. We set off in a light trot back towards the high rise that the Gala would soon take place in. We walked into the beautiful lobby with fountains and light all sparkling and aglow. I notice a dark coloured alicorn in the one corner of the room, I Tell Rainbow Dash "I'll see her soon." as I walk towards Princess Luna. She smiles when she sees me.

"Oh hello, Steelwing, how has your day been?" she asks brightly.

"Well it's been...interesting..." I say with a chuckle.

"sounds like you've had a busy day. Is there anything you need?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk with you or your sister."

"Well my sister is asleep, but you can talk to me."

"Erm okay, can we go somewhere private?" I ask. She nods and leads me into a small private dining room,

"Okay, what is it, Steelwing?" she asks. I exhale,

"Hmm, I don't really know where to begin. Um well I've been hearing voices in my head, Discord's voice. I'm also having weird nightmares again. I'm worried that I might be having a relapse to that mental breakdown from before."

She nods, her eyes widening a tiny bit. Then her horn glows and a small green light envelopes me. Once the light fades away, she opens her mouth,

"Well I scanned you. You don't seem to have any abnormal brain activity. I also recall Princess Celestia saying that the Eye of Discord was living in your brain but you repressed it. Well maybe you simply need to repress it again. Contact with Discord may have reactivated it."

"I'm sorry but what exactly is the Eye of Discord?"

"Right...Its something Discord used to Infect his victims with. He would watch stuff through their eyes. when he was bored, he would take over their bodies and use their powers against them. It could be used as a weapon against him though. If the person managed to take over the eye, they could use it's power. Discord quickly stopped using then afterwards."

"Uh huh. So then what do I do?"

"Well, it clearly has a purpose. It probably fused with a part of Discord which is why it's bugging you. Simply find out what it wants, then stop it."

"It said it wanted to destroy it's siblings."

"Really? That's great! You can use it to help you! You saw it's power, it ripped the throne room in half!" she says happily.

"But what if it's lying?"

"Well that's up to you." she says. I smile, relieved.

"But what about the nightmares?"

"Steelwing, they are just dreams. I promise nothing will happen to Rainbow Dash or your friends. Simply regard them as dreams and you will be fine."

"But what about the one I had about the monster attacking Rainbow Dash? That one turned out to be true."

"That was different, you had a dream about one of them being hurt. Not Rainbow Dash specifically."

"But it's still an example of dreams coming true!"

"Steelwing, trust me. They are just dreams. You and Rainbow Dash are safe."

"But the other two are awake..."

"And almost completely drained of power. Despair and Destruction can't hurt anything right now. They're just hiding, until they are powerful enough to fight you."

"Then shouldn't we attack them now?"

"I'm afraid we can't. They are hiding somewhere in Tartarus. Ponies cannot exist physically in that realm. Not even myself or my sister."

"Oh..."

"Yes I'm afraid we will have to wait. Now, are you feeling more relieved?"

"A bit yeah."

"Okay, well then off to bed. We don't you to be cranky tomorrow."

"Wait what time is it?"

"About two in the morning."

"Oh boy. Well then goodnight."

"Goodnight, Steelwing. Pleasant dreams."

If only that were the case. I head up to Rainbow Dash's room. I open the door and hear a faint snoring. I look over at Rainbow Dash curled up in a chair with my mp3 player still in her hooves. I tip-hoof? My way to the closet where I take off my coat. I also check to see how my fake cutie mark is doing. Its barely visible, so I decide to redo it tomorrow. Rainbow Dash stirs from her slumber and gets up, pushing her mane away from her eyes,

"Hey how was your chat?" she asks sluggishly.

"Pretty good.."

"Any bad news?"

"Nope, I'm fine."

"Yay..." she says tiredly as she slumps back into the chair. I plod over an shake her shoulder.

"Come to bed if your tired. Otherwise you'll wake up sore from sitting like that." I say gently. She moans.

"I don't wanna get uuuup."

"But the wonderbolts are gonna be there tomorrow. What will they think if they see you sore and annoyed?" I ask. Her eyes widen,

"Fine..." she says sluggishly as she walks over to the bed. She climbs in and snuggles into me with her head resting on the pillow. She wraps her arms around me as I yawn and turn off the light. Closing my eyes and falling asleep.

...

"Come on 'static', why won't you stay here for a while?" asks Yvonne. I back away as she pulls out a screwdriver,

"You wouldn't want me to beg would you?"

"Look, I wasn't cheating on you. She's my best friend since grade two."

"Then prove it. Just sit down and have dinner." she says with a cruel grin.

"I'd rather piss razorblades."

"I suggest you sit down." she says. I back away and hit the far wall of the pizza place. (why did I agree to date this maniac?) I think as she gets closer. I feel my arm warm up and notice the runes glowing (well that's different.) I duck as she swipes at me, her moves equal to the police officer. I roll to my left as she swings again, the screwdriver missing by a millimetre. She gets up and runs at me, swinging like a maniac. I feint to the left and try to escape, only to feel a piercing pain in my right side! I look down to see the screwdriver sticking out right by my ribs! I turn to her,

"Bitch!" I yell as she laughs manically. I pull out the screwdriver, noticing a black fluid pouring out of the wound! (Wait what?) I think as the screwdriver turns into a pen,

"EKey, wake up!" screams a voice as I shake my head. I blink a few times and look at Rainbow Dash clutching me with tears in her eyes,

"Uh..." I say as I look around. I then look at Rainbow Dash clearly, she holding onto my hooves tightly. Between them, I can see a pen, cracked with ink flowing out,

"Dashie what happened?" I ask. She looks at me terrified.

"There was somepony in our room. Or at least I'm pretty sure there was, so I tried to wake you up. However you just kind of went weird. You grabbed a pen and started swinging at the wall and then tried to stab yourself! I grabbed you right before you did!" she says anxiously. I look down at the broken pen in my hooves,

"Wait so you're sure there was someone in our room?" I ask. She nods and buries her head into my chest, crying,

"Dashie what is it?" I ask. She sobs,

"I'm scared and confused and everything just seems wrong all of a sudden."

"What do you mean?"

"EKey, you just tried to stab yourself! It scares me to think what would have happened if I hadn't woken up! I already lost one loved one. I can't lose another!" she yells, breaking down into tears. I hug her tightly as she cries, her entire body shaking,

"Sigh...I'm sorry, Dashie." I say, "I'm trying to fix this."

"Well clearly it's not working!" she yells. I blink, stunned by her words,

"Well what should I do?"

"I don't know...something!" she says, her tears finally starting to slow down.

"But Princess Luna said I was fine!" I say, feeling mentally and emotionally drained. Dashie mumbles and rests her head on my chest,

"I hate seeing you get hurt, EKey," she says quietly. "I can't stand it. Whenever, I see you coming back from one of your battles, bruised and bloody. It just destroys me inside. I hate seeing you hurt. I hate it more than I hate losing."

I sigh. "That makes two of us."

She chuckles a bit and hiccups, standing up with a stretch. I smile as I sit back up,

"So are you sure you saw another pony in this room?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Huh, well do you mind if I look around?"

"Nope. Just please be safe..."

"I promise, Dashie." I say as I kiss her nose and walk towards the door,

"Oh, and EKey?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"It's okay, I deserved it." I reply as I grab a flashlight and open the door. I find myself in a dim hallway, the light have all been turned dim for the night. I click the flashlight on and put it in my teeth. I then go down the hall, feeling a chill run down my spine. I turn a corner and find myself face to face with Twilight,

"Oh hi, EKey." she whispers,

"It's Steelwing." I mutter.

"Right, hi, Steelwing."

"Hey what are you doing out here?" I ask.

"Well I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. I ended up at the end of the hall there and I saw somepony by your door. So I ran after them but they turned a corner and vanished! I also heard Rainbow Dash calling out your name. Oh, you two weren't..."

"Oh no. Not at all." I say, feeling myself blush to my roots, oh boy. She shakes her head, embarrassed.

"Sorry, never mind. So what are you doing out here?"

"Well I tried to stab myself with a pen while I was sleeping. I guess Rainbow Dash woke up to somepony in our room, and then saw me." I say. Her eyes widen,

"Then I was right about that pony!" she says excitedly, "If you're worried, I can put a protection spell on your door."

"Umm sure, thanks." I say. she smiles,

"Well so I also have something that could help you with the nightmares."

"Really?"

"Yeah I have some sleep medication. I use it occasionally when I can't sleep."

"Um sure... that would be great."

"Awesome, well here you go." she says, pulling a bottle out of her tail and handing me a pill.

"Thanks," I reply, "Hey what did the Pony look like?"

"Well I didn't get a great look, but it seemed like he had no eyes." she says. I feel my stomach drop. Oh no. We then walk quietly back to Dashie's room. She stops and her horn starts to glow. The door glows purple for a second and then fades back to it's original colour.

"Well goodnight." says Twilight happily.

"Goodnight and thanks." I say as I open the door and head inside. Rainbow Dash beams when she sees me and runs over, hugging me,

"Awesome your back in one piece!" she says happily, I smile and kiss her mane,

"Yep and we now have a protection on our door, courtesy of Twilight and something to help me sleep, courtesy of Twilight." I reply. She smiles and drags me to bed, I swallow the pill and climb in. She snuggles into my arms and wing with her muzzle buried into my neck. I wrap my other wing over her and close my eyes. Feeling the medicine affect me quickly.

_Toronto, Canada: 3:50pm_

The man sits down in his corner. He sighs and face palms,

"What Despair did was stupid. He was always curious, but sneaking into his room when he was little power was a stupid idea. If EKey had caught him, his head would be in a bag, resting on Celestia's doorstep. He doesn't get his powers back until tomorrow."

The man coughs and starts to sing again. This time however, the song is different,

_"And so it was told,_

_That the one in black would cleanse the world._

_Two would fall in love_

_Three would be stopped_

_And the guardian would awaken,_

_Some heroes are born,_

_Some heroes die, _

_But in the battle against gods,_

_No one survives." _

**AUTHORS NOTES: **Yeah another chapter edited, sorry for the wait (exams, almost failing a class, firebombing my kitchen, etc.) so yeah but the chapter is out and next is the gala chapter...in all its 14 page glory. Probably be out in like two weeks...Also I apologize for the weird oxymoron statements (mutter loudly, sighed silently, etc) my editor has this strange obsession with cramming these in and I often miss a few. So if its an oxymoron just try to go for the more logical sounding statement.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 12: The Gala

_Equestria, Manehatten: 10:26 am._

I wake up with a slight moan and try to sit up. But I can't for Rainbow Dash is lying sprawled across my stomach asleep. I yawn and pet her mane, its like a sinewy silk. Which is kind of an oxymoron, but I have no better way of describing it. She mumbles a bit and rolls over, still asleep. I check the clock and shake Rainbow Dash,

"Come on, Dashie, get up. We have the gala tonight!" I say. She mumbles and wakes up, rubbing her eyes. I grin as she stands up and stretches.

"You have no idea how excited I am!" she says with a grin.

I chuckle as I sit on the bed. "So, breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure... Where should we go?"

"Hmm... what about the lobby's café?"

"Alright!" She says as she pulls me to my feet. I shake myself fully awake and open the door. "Wait, EKey,"

I turn around. "Yeah?"

"Your cutie mark."

"Right," I say as I grab the fake cutie mark and reapply it. I then turn to Rainbow Dash who nods and we head out into the hall.

_Toronto, Canada, 10:26 Pm._

The man stretches his legs, feeling the blood rush back into them. He sighs in relief and takes a swig of his drink. Then frowns again,

"Hmm, today's the day. Let's hope it doesn't go as foretold. I would hate to see what would happen to him if she died." he says sadly, "Well I suppose I'd better check on the kids parents." He gets up with a grunt and heads down the street. Leaving a few rags and empty bottles behind him.

_Equestria, Manehatten: 11:30 am_

I laugh at the look on Rainbow Dash's face when I tell her about the dream I had involving my ex. She stares at me appalled.

"Hey... so what should we do?" I ask. She blinks, we finished our breakfast a while ago.

She blinks and rests a hoof behind her head. "Hmm... we could go see what Twilight and the others are up to."

"Alright." I reply, standing up and paying the waiter. He nods and we leave, avoiding the pretentious doorpony. She giggles at the faces I make behind his back before we bolt for the third floor where we meet up with Twilight, and everypony else, standing in Rarity's room. She's also handing out bags to everypony.

"Hey, whats up?" I ask.

Applejack smiles. "Hey EKe— err... sorry— Steelwing. How's yer day been?"

"Pretty good." I reply, "What are the bags for?"

"Our gala dresses. Shame you can't wear one." she says with a smirk.

"Yeah, I really wanted to wear a pink frilly dress," I snark.

Applejack chuckles. "So what are ya up to today?"

"Not much, we were actually seeing what you guys were up to."

"Not much either, I'm gonna go and take a look around the city, Fluttershy is heading for Princess Park, I'm pretty sure Rarity is going to some fashion designers studio, Pinkie Pie is most likely baking, and Twilight will be talking to the Princesses."

"Oh, okay." I say dejectedly.

_Toronto, Canada; 11:45 Pm_

The man sits outside the small two story house, waiting for their car to arrive. He'd been sitting there for about fifteen minutes and still no one had arrived.

He sighs. "Damn, where are they? I was asked to keep an eye on them in case anything happened. But now of course, they decide to vanish!"

He exhales deeply before taking another swag from his bottle, blissfully ignoring a wet slithering sound creeping into his mind.

"Hey there," says the tentacled pony.

He rubs a clothed finger under his nose. "Whaddya need?"

"Just sayin' hullo. You know, today _is_ the day."

"Yeah, the day of awakening... The day Despair gets _his_ powers back and goes after _him_."

The man raises his chin, his eyes fixated on the eldritch pony. "The day the kid's parents die."

"Also the day _she_ dies."

"I'm trying to stop it."

"You can't change fate, mate. Hey, that rhymes!" says the tentacled pony gleefully, tapping his forehooves together.

The man shakes his head, a look of determination in his eyes. "I can at least try."

"And how would you do that?" The pony's grin plummets.

"I'll keep an eye on the kid's parents, and try to contact the Princess."

The pony shakes his head. "Do they know today is the day he gets his powers back?"

"No. They think he's still powerless."

"And you didn't tell them?" The tentacled pony smirks and raises an eyebrow.

The lonely man shrugs, shakes his head and gulps down another swag of his drink."I tried."

"I doubt that. Look, I still don't know whether or not you're the good guy here."

"Same applies to you," the man says as he leans back.

_Equestria, Manehatten; 12:11 pm._

I walk through Princess Park with Rainbow Dash beside me and Fluttershy far ahead, surrounded by wildlife with a happy smile in her face. Rainbow Dash chuckles at Fluttershy's gallivanting.

"Well... she's happy."

"No kidding." I reply with a small chuckle. She smiles warmly and hugs me.

"I'm happy that the nightmare last night wasn't like the others. It shows that you are recovering. I'm also sorry for yelling at you," she says blissfully. I hug her back.

"Once again, it's okay." I reply. She grins and turns back to Fluttershy who is now petting a rabbit. I look around, trying to find something for us to do. I notice a small white stand in the distance.

"Hey guys, want Ice Cream?" I ask.

They both beam. "Yes, please!" they reply in unison. Damned if that isn't creepy.

"Alright... what kind?"

"Oh strawberry or vanilla please." says Fluttershy.

"Something with lots of Chocolate!" says Rainbow Dash.

"Alrighty," I say as I walk towards the stand. I grab strawberry, Vanilla, and Extreme Chocolate ice creams. I pay the tired looking vendor and head back towards Fluttershy and Dashie,

"Well here ya go." I say, hoofing them the ice creams. They smile.

"Thanks," they say as they eat. I smirk and sit down on the bench with them. We eat in silence- it's pretty damn good ice cream. Suddenly Rainbow Dash yawns and leans back, stretching. One of her raised hooves hit Fluttershy's cone and knocks the ice cream! I catch it with my Telekinesis spell and put it back on the cone.

Fluttershy blushes and smiles. "Thanks..." she says bashfully, hiding under her mane as she gives the cone little licks.

"Sorry about that," says Dash.

"Oh it's okay!" responds Fluttershy almost immediately.

I smile and look up at the sky. It seems brighter and nicer in this park, as though nothing could go wrong.

_Toronto, Canada: 12:25 Am_

The man stands up, "So have his powers returned?"

"Five minutes ago, Despair got his powers back." Replies the tentacled pony.

The man throws a side glance towards the pony. "So where is he headed?"

"Directly to the Gala."

The lonely man gulps down another gush of his drunk. "Time of arrival?"

"Six-point-five hours," the tentacled pony responds with mathematical confidence.

The man looks down in bewilderment. "Oh boy," he breathes deeply, "he's not even amassing allies? He's just going for EKey?"

"Don't forget, Despair hasn't used his power in over a thousand years. EKey can also have me take over for an added burst."

"I don't think he will."

"Yeah, that guy is stubborn."

"Stubborn _and_ talented."

"So anything on the kid's parents?"

The man looks up. "Nope, nothing."

"You know, I like it more when we are talking civilly like this," the tentacled pony says thoughtfully. The man nods in agreement.

An awkward bout of silence grows in the vicinity. Both the man and the pony pause to reflect, but the silence is broken when the tentacled pony forces a cough to clear his throat. "So...what are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna' warn Princess Celestia."

"And Rainbow Dash?" asks the tentacled pony,

"I'll ask Princess Celestia to tell EKey to keep near her."

"Alright, good...we can't let her die."

The man bobs his head in agreement. "Your right. She's too important and we need him at his best."

"Good work, Someone Else."

"Thanks, " the man says as he starts to walk down the street.

_Equestria, Manehatten: 2:35 pm_

I walk back into the Hotel with both girls in tow. Fluttershy says thanks and gallops off to her room. I walk through the lobby with Rainbow Dash beside me,

"So... should we get ready for the gala?" I ask.

From the corner of her eye, Dash glances towards me. "Yeah, sure."

"Steelwing, I need to talk to you." commands a regal voice from behind, "Rainbow Dash if you could please give us a minute."

"Yeah sure. EKey, I'll be in our room," says Rainbow Dash as she trots off.

Princess Celestia motions for me to follow her. We walk into the same room where, several hours earlier, I had talked to Princess Luna. She looks at me and sighs, anxious about something, "EKey, I'm afraid I have something to tell you. Despair has gotten his powers back."

"But Luna said last night that..." I start, confusion setting in.

"I know, but I just received some bad news. Apparently it has been foretold that he would regain his powers today. I also learned that Rainbow Dash's life is in danger."

"What do you mean 'in danger'?" I stamp a hoof, "and where did you get this information?"

"From a person of your world. I've dealt with him in the past. He has a strange link to our world, I don't know how it works. But he said that Rainbow Dash's life is in danger, I want you to stay near her."

"Why wouldn't I? If her life is in danger, I will not leave her side. Also, you said the man from Toronto wasn't real!"

She glances away for a moment, eyeing some copious set of pictures on her right. "I know, I'm sorry for lying but he wasn't supposed to contact you."

"So what happens now?" I groan, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"Patience now... Go to Rainbow Dash and stay at her side. The gala will proceed as scheduled."

"And Despair?" I shake my head.

"He's headed directly here."

Finally, my temper explodes. "THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE WE HAVING A GIANT PARTY? OH HEY SPIRIT OF SADNESS, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT YOU, HERE'S YOUR WELCOME PARTY!" I yell. She steps back, startled,

"EKey, I cannot cancel this. There would be too many questions. If word got out that Discords sibling had awoken, it would be chaos and pandemonium."

"THAT'S BULLSHIT! HE WILL COME HERE AND KILL EVERYPONY."

"EKey, I have a plan."

"OF COURSE YOU DO, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A FUCKING PLAN!" I yell.

"Listen, I've already increased security and if Despair does show up, then grab him and use this," she says as she pulls out a small gold medallion thing.

"What is this?" I ask, beginning to calm down.

"It will teleport you and Despair far away from here."

"...Really? Why couldn't it just teleport Despair away instead of me?"

"Because that would be useless. We still need you to kill him."

I raise an eyebrow before grabbing the golden medallion. "Fine." I say, reaching for the exit. Princess Celestia sighs and sits down. Holding her head in her hooves. I scowl and storm up to the third floor.

_Toronto, Canada: 3:30 AM_

The man yawns. "I don't think they're showing up." he says, still looking at the empty driveway.

"Think they're dead?" asks the Tentacled pony.

"Most likely." He replies.

The pony flops a straying tentacle over his own back and narrows his eyes, noticing the man's attentive gaze, who as far as the pony was concerned, was still concerned on the matter "...Ouch... well did you contact Celestia?"

"Yeah, he's been warned. Apparently he got a bit pissed about how the gala was continuing."

"Sounds like him, he's pretty protective." the pony pauses for moment, a sly grin growing on his face. "That is, if you don't mind the whole 'getting a pony to fall in love with you knowing that you're a nearly immortal being—dash—ancient weapon'. A fucking tragedy waiting to happen, eh?"

The man sniffs, taking another swag from his bottle."So how long until Despair arrives?"

"About three hours." The pony glances away into the skyline. The cold, foreign air began to unnerve him ever so slightly.

"Well then what can we do to help?"

"Have you checked on EKey?" says the pony, eyes still locked onto the oppressive sky.

"His mental and physical status are fine. He's still fit, and the total time he can maintain his human form is now double his original time."

"Alright, he seems ready."

"Should I do anything else?"

"Yes, find out about his parents, and keep an eye on the status of the guardian."

"It's still inactive,"

"That could change soon... Also... Human weather seems like such a... drag."

_Equestria, Manehatten; 3:35 PM_

I open the door and run over to Rainbow Dash whom glares at me, startled. I grab her in a tight hug, she willingly hugs me back.

"Um, EKey? Is something the matter?" she asks, puzzled.

"I need you to stay at my side. No matter what," I say bluntly.

"EKey, whats going on?" she says.

"Please just do it." I say, "For your sake."

"What's going on, am I in trouble?" she asks.

I nod and her shoulders slump, "What is it?"

"Despair. He's returned and your life is in danger." I say. She starts to shiver,

"Oh..." she says quietly. I nod, still hugging her tightly,

"I also just freaked out at the Princess." I say quietly.

"O-kay..." she says. I sigh and pull away. She leans back and faces me, "Well are we going to the gala?"

"Yeah we probably should. More ponies might make it safer."

"Ok," she says, grabbing a bag and going into the bathroom. I frown and grab my suitcase, pulling out my suit and combat gear. I put on both my vest and belt, stuffing the pockets with my ground glass and phosphorus bombs; the ones I never used during my battle with Discord. After that, I pull the suit over it. Readjusting the buckles in order to properly hide the vest underneath. I then get dressed in the rest of my ripped blue t-shit. Its a dark grey with black pinstripes and the emblem of a key on the cuffs. I tuck in the red tie after having to resort to telekinesis in order to actually tie it. I finish off by straightening my mane and straightening my tail. I stand in the mirror, I look impressive, not like I have a bunch of weapons under my suit. I hear a faint humming from the bathroom, in the meantime, I put the gold disk in my pocket.

Rainbow Dash walks out of the bathroom in her gala dress. She looks gorgeous. I feel my jaw drop as she blushes, "Hey.." she says quietly.

"You look so beautiful." I say slowly. She smiles sadly,

"Hey you look pretty hot as well Mr. Steelwing." she says.

_Toronto, Canada: 4:03 AM_

The man gets up to his feet and heads down the street towards the centre of Toronto.

"Hey where are you going?" asks the tentacled pony.

"Back to my corner." He replies, his words leaving foggy clouds.

"Well Despair is almost out of Tartarus. As soon as he leaves, it's just a quick teleport and then BAM he's in Manehatten."

"Oh boy, well EKey remembered his equipment and hasn't left Rainbow Dash's side."

"But what's the point? She's gonna die anyways!"

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do, pal. I'm from a realm where Time and Space don't exist. I can see the past, present, and future all at the same time."

"Then what will happen?"

"Despair will show up, throw a spear at EKey, which will miss and pierce Rainbow Dash in the throat. She will die in his arms exactly 27.3 seconds later."

"Well EKey is pretty unpredictable. There is still a chance."

"A minimally small chance at that."

"Hey, it's still a chance."

"I suppose your right. Well try to contact EKey and warn him."

"I'll get right to that."

_Equestria, Manehatten; 4:07 PM_

I walk down the stairs when I feel a strange cloudiness in my brain. I groan and rub my temples, resulting in Rainbow Dash running over to me. My vision starts to go blurry as I feel the blood pumping in my face. I grab Rainbow Dash and hold her as everything gets super blurry and then jumps to blackness.

"Oi, EKey." says my vessel. I stand up and face him,

"What is it?" I ask.

"I know how you can save Rainbow Dash."

"How?" I ask.

"Look, at 6:52 PM, Despair will appear in Manehatten. He will summon a spear and throw it at you. However, it will miss and hit Rainbow Dash in the throat. She will then die in your arms. Your job is to stop that from happening and then teleport yourself and Despair using the medallion."

"And how will I stop the spear?" I ask, feeling worried.

"One of the runes on your arm is for a spell called _adren..._ or something like that... Short for adrenaline. This spell does not slow down time, but instead speeds up your thought process and overall physical speed. Making it seem as though time has slowed down. One problem through is that it's a very exhausting spell. Your body cannot naturally move at that speed. as a result, you will be left very drained...both physically and mentally at the end."

"And how do I use this spell?"

"Imagine a fine web surrounding your body. Imagine it speeding up your movements and brain power. That should activate the spell." he says, clapping his hooves,

"Now go stop Despair. I don't want Rainbow Dash dead."

...

I sit up, still holding Rainbow Dash who stares at me. I hug her and sit there by the stairs. she looks at me silently, clearly terrified,

"It all fell apart so fast," she says quietly, "We were happy and now I'm going to die. I don't want to die, not like this. At a party beside the love of my life. I wanted to join the Wonderbolts."

I look at her, trying to come up with words. But nothing. She frowns and I can tell she's clearly trying not to cry. I lift her chin,

"Hey...I promise you won't die." I say, softly.

"Can we wait a bit before we go to the gala?" she asks softly, resting her head on my chest.

"Sure." I say as we get up and head back upstairs. Upon reaching our room, I open it and she lies down on the bed, snuggling into my arms and closing her eyes. I kiss her forehead and lie there, with her asleep in my arms. My ears twitch at every noise and but I'm strangely calm about the situation. Call it arrogance or naivety or whatever...

_Toronto, Canada: 4:22 AM_

"So what are they up to now?" asks the Tentacled pony.

"They made out by the stairs and now she's asleep with him in their hotel room."

"And EKey?"

"Pretty calm. He's just holding her and staring at the wall."

"Has he been possessed?"

"No it appears he's just thinking."

"Alright good. Make sure he doesn't fall asleep."

"Alright. What's the status on Despair?" asks the man.

"He's almost at the gate. Two and a half hours."

"Man, it's actually terrifying."

"Yes, I am legitimately scared."

"Do you think he's gonna use you?"

"Probably not."

"Understandable. Hey, quick question; how's Destruction holding up?"

"No idea, I can't read on her whereabouts."

"So she might have her powers back."

"She definitely doesn't. If she did, EKey would be dead by now. She wouldn't even walk to the gates of Tartarus, she'd rip herself a tunnel through the temporal vortex and walk into his hotel room. Killing him before his brain even finished it's first electrical synapse that someones there."

"She's that powerful?"

"Yep. She could easily destroy EKey."

"Well good thing her powers haven't returned."

"My point exactly." says the tentacled pony.

_Equestria, Manehatten: 5:30 PM_

Rainbow Dash and I walk across the lobby to the dining hall where the gala is taking place. She seems more reassured and has a smile on her face. I make sure to hide my extreme nervousness, by simply looking as stoic as possible. We run into Fluttershy and Twilight who are standing at the entrance, both of them look worried,

"Princess Celestia told us what's going on." says Twilight.

I sigh. "Alright."

"Well are you ready?" asks Twilight. I nod bluntly, Fluttershy looks terrified,

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll stop him." I say with a rather silly amount of pride. She smiles and blushes. We then walk into the gala together.

The gala is probably the most pretentious thing ever. I feel like I can almost scrape the pretentiousness out of the air and sell it. Everypony has combovers or other douchey hairdos. Half of them have monocles, and the half that don't are wearing tweed jackets or other pretentious clothing. I immediately feel pissed at everypony for no reason. In one corner is a string quartet playing quietly but no one is dancing. At the other end is food. I head for it with Rainbow Dash following me. The dishes are all weird. "Carrot Tartar plus parsnip jus avec pomme frites? What the hell does that even mean?" I say out loud earning a few scowls from nearby dignitaries.

Rainbow Dash grabs some and munches down."No idea, tastes good though." she says, "I feel rich eating this."

"Half these dishes are unpronounceable!" I exclaim. I ultimately find what appears to be some type of fruit drink. I grab one and hoof another to Rainbow Dash. She drinks it happily.

"This also tastes good!" I try it out, it does taste good. She smiles. "Wanna dance?"

I gulp. "I don't know how to." I say, blushing to my roots.

She laughs. "Hey it's not that hard. Trust me, just follow my lead."

"But nopony else is dancing." I say.

She grins. "Yeah, over there!" she points. Sure enough there are dancing couples. I make my way across the room and notice Celestia at the front. She catches my eye and nods. I nod back and we find ourselves on the dance floor,

"Oh boy." I begin as Rainbow Dash grabs my hoof with her own and faces me.

"Here follow me. Just don't break eye contact." she says as she steps to the left. I follow and soon I've got the hang of it. It's still confusing, but it's easier than any human dance. A lot easier. We dance for a while and more ponies join the dance floor. After a few songs, we head for a table. Sitting at it is Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They smile when they see us,

"How are you two doing?" asks Applejack while Pinkie Pie beams.

"Pretty good." I say.

"Well I taught Steelwing how to dance," says Rainbow Dash. Applejack chuckles and motions for us to sit down. We do and Pinkie Pie offers us some food. It's pretty delicious and soon we are all munching on dinner. Pinkie Pie tells us about how she visited 350different bakeries yesterday and how she got in trouble for inviting them all into her hotel room for a baking party. Applejack talked about how she visited her cousins again. Apparently they are doing well. We talk about our adventure over the city, hiding from the cops and going to a concert. They laugh at the story of our gallivanting.

_Toronto, Canada: 6:30 AM_

The man yawns for he still hadn't slept. He readjusts his coat and takes another swig from his bottle, pausing to pull out a small package of cookies from his pocket. He pulls out one and starts to eat it,9

"Twenty minutes," The tentacle pony states, "You should get some sleep."

"I can't; I'll sleep when this is all over, " the man mumbles as he begins to eat a second cookie.

"So why are you homeless?" asks the tentacled pony.

"Does it matter?" asks the man.

"I'm just curious. It's this or watching EKey talk about yesterday. Which I watched through his eyes."

"I was fired from my job for being delusional. I simply wasn't hired again and lost my house a few months later."

"Ouch, well I have one more question."

"Fine, shoot."

"How are you able to contact Celestia? Better yet, how am I living in both yours and EKey's brain?" asks the tentacled pony.

"That, I'm not going to answer." says the man, as memories of his past float into his head. Memories he'd rather forget.

"Hmm...well, it's gonna draw to a close soon." says the Tentacled pony.

"I know. I've done all I can. Now all I can do is watch." says the man as he eats his third cookie.

"Stop eating! This is serious!" says the tentacled pony with an air of annoyance.

"Fuck off I'm hungry." says the man as he pulls out another package of cookies.

_Equestria, Manehatten; 6:40 PM_

I walk back onto the dance floor with Rainbow Dash again after talking with Twilight and Rarity. She smiles as we sway to the music. I look over at the clock, it's six thirty. 20 minutes, Rainbow Dash notices my tension,

"Not long huh.." she says. I nod as she leans her head against me,

"Promise me, you'll protect me?" she mumbles softly. I nod and kiss her mane,

"Well then let's make the best of this night as we can." she finishes. I nod again and we continue to dance. The song suddenly sounding Gothic and strange, almost like a countdown. We continue to dance to the next few songs, noticing that they sound creepier and creepier. Rainbow Dash however doesn't seem to notice it which is reassuring. I look over at the clock, 6:50 PM. I gulp and look over at the entrance. Standing there is a swamp green Pegasus with a hat pulled low over his eyes. Or lack of.

I nod at him, feeling the runes on my arm glow. Rainbow Dash notices and clutches me. He grins, showing fangs and raises his hoof, the whole arm glowing. I check the clock, 6:51 PM. A thin rod materializes in his hoof. I swiftly run through what the tentacled pony said in my head. He flings the spear...

...

...and the world goes upside down.

**End of Chapter**

**Authors Notes: **So I may have been wrong about the whole story out by Monday thing but nevermind it's here! Oh and Darkest Bleak got BANNED! Um what else, oh yeah sorry about the wait and stuff, erm next chapter will be out hopefully soon and I'm also sorry about the whole cliffhanger thing. Oh I got Twitter Anunymau5 or something like that so for updates on the story or just strange ramblings check it out...or not. Don't forget to review and all that thanks for reading sorry about the wait.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 13: 

"_He throws the spear...and the world goes upside down..."_

I watch the spear fly at Rainbow Dash slowly, leaving a contrail behind it. The ponies around me are all moving at a snail like pace. I grab my hoof blade and swing at the spear, cleaving it right through the middle! The pieces spin out of control and veer in separate directions away from Rainbow Dash. One grazes her mane as she slowly moves backwards. Suddenly everything snaps back to it's normal speed and I fall over with a thud, the two spear chunks landing on each side of Rainbow Dash. She blinks.

"What just happened?" she says as party members around her start to panic.

I stand up and kiss her. "Get yourself to the Wonderbolts, Celestia, anypony that's safe. Do it now!" I say, grabbing her shoulders. She nods and runs off as I turn to Despair who looks at me surprised and then charges at me while his bladed wings extend. He tackles me and we go down in a mess of feathers, blood, and fabric. I grab him, pulling out the disk and clutching it as a white light envelopes us,

"Get ready, asshole," I mutter as we are whisked away.

_Toronto, Canada: 6:53 AM_

The man smiles.

"Toldja EKey would save her," he says happily.

"Wow, you were right... for now," says the tentacled pony. "But I must admit that I didn't think he could pull it off. "

"Heh, all that's left is Despair," cries the man as he chuckles, "and Rainbow Dash is currently with Princess Luna. She's reassuring her that shes fine and so will EKey. Princess Celestia appears to have restored order. Saying that it was a local drunk who had broken in and her special forces officer had dealt with it. The rest of the mane six are now on their way to see Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash herself looks moderately okay, she seems pretty shaken up by what happened and is worried about EKey. But otherwise, she seems pretty relieved that shes not dead. Oh, and Princess Celestia has sent someone named Zephyr to go and retrieve EKey after their battle."

"Well that's good. Now what about EKey?" asks the Tentacled Pony.

"He just appeared with Despair," says the man.

_Equestria, unknown location: 6:54 PM_

I am flung into my surroundings in a flash of light. I blink and sit up, feeling gritty sand in my hooves. "Great, she teleported me into a desert!" I think before seeing, several feet away, Despair getting to his feet.

"Where did you send us!" he yells as his arm glows.

"No idea," I reply with a smirk as I grab my hoof sword. I undo my suit to get at my belt and then get ready to fight Despair. He runs at me, flaring his wings in front of himself so they behave as a bladed grid. I leap over him and swing at him but the blade simply bounces off his wings. He whirls around, as I ready my shockwave spell. He bolts for me and I fire it, knocking him back a few feet but he still keeps coming. I roll to the side

"Fine, wanna play that way?" I mutter as I toss away the hoof sword and transform into a human. But still wearing a badass suit and hat. I catch my rectangle blade and hold it in front of me. He slows down and chuckles,

"Really? You're not the only one who can transform," he says as his body glows. He gets enveloped in a cloud of blackness which grows! Suddenly the cloud dissapates and he stands up, looking very different! He swings his quadruple joined limbs and looks at me with his empty eye sockets, his fangs twisting into a terrifying grin. He chuckles, his fleshless body shaking. All it is is skin stretched over about two hundred ribs, and two multi jointed arms with huge shoulders and two multi jointed legs with backwards hips. He summons a pair of ancient egyptain sickles which he grasps in his multi jointed fingers. He points them at me, as a pair of tentacles sprout from his back,

"Come, Equestria Key. Let us fight."

End of chapter.

Next chapter: The Despairing desert

I run ahead and fire my shockwave spell at the ground under me, thrusting myself up into the air. From there, I roll and fire my fireball spell, holding onto my hat and hitting the eldritch creature in the chest! It falls back in an explosion of flame as I hit the ground before it, my tie flapping around me.

I whirl around to find Despair dashing at me, whirling the two sickles expertly. He swings, each one whirling in perfect tandem to the other, giving me barely a chance to escape. (If I screw up, I'm dead!) I think grimly as I back up. He swings at me again, so I roll forwards, feeling the first blade whistle past my ears and the second one catch my sleeve. I hear a ripping noise as I stand up behind him, pulling off the shredded sleeve.

He spins around, his empty eye sockets locating me as he runs towards me again. He lashes out with his tentacles, one of which slashes me across the face and another which coils around my leg and pulls me towards him! He flings me over his head, face-first into the sand. However, the sand does little more than cushion the blow and I hop back to my feet.

He grins.

"My, you're fast," he says softly. I gulp and he starts to swing his sickles around faster and faster. I roll to my side, using my shockwave spell for added boost. I then run at him, holding my sword out in front of me. He turns as I'm about to hit him, his two sickles coming to meet my sword in an explosion of energy. The sand around us gets blown away, leaving the two of us standing on bare stone.

He pulls back his first sickle and drives it into my sword again, making my knees buckle! I grin, as he pushes down harder, and transform back into a pony! The shockwave knocks him back, his two sickles flying out of his hands! I dive at him and transform back into a human, driving him into the ground and lodging my sword into his chest! I reach into one of my pouches and grab a small phosphorus bomb! Holding it, I pull the strip which holds the water and drop it! Knocking myself away with the shockwave spell at the same time!

He screams as he envelops in an explosion of pure white light! I chuckle and grab a few more bombs, rolling them in my hand. I then bolt at him, jumping in the air and throwing all three at him! They explode, igniting his body as he continues to scream! I hit the ground with a small thud and turn around.

The smoke dissipates, leaving him standing there, black goo dripping from his chest wound, large burns now cover his arms and face. He stares at me with an intense look of utter hatred.

"My brother may have failed to kill you. But I won't make the same mistakes as him!"

"But you already have!" I yell as I run at him. "He also spent too much time flapping his lips instead of fighting!"

I swing the sword and catch his arm, driving him back! He yells before grabbing the blade and kicking me! I fall back with an oof as he runs for his sickles, whirling them around and facing me. I grasp my sword and prepare to finish this fight.

He runs at me, whirling his swords in a spinning bladed nightmare! I run at him, bring my sword above my head and swing it at him, catching his spinning blades! He pauses for a second and starts to swing his swords, cutting through mine! I stare wide eyed as he slices my sword into a bunch of pieces! I then duck as he swings his spinning blades at me, I feel them catch my shoulders, back, ribs and the backs of my arms! Ripping out flesh and sinews! He then kicks me, knocking me back several feet!

The pain hits me and I'm doubled over, holding my arms and back as I feel the gritty sand seep inside! He laughs at my screams of pain, pointing over behind me,

"That's your sword over there!" He cackles. "This one is fake!"

I watch as the sword shards shimmer and fade away, still holding my bleeding limbs. He chuckles and runs at me, spinning the swords! I close my eyes and focus, feeling everything slow down. I stand up as he slowly runs at me, using my telekinetic ability to draw my sword into my hands. I grasp it tightly and bring the flat side upwards, knocking him into the air! From there, I jump up and start to swing, slashing at him, leaving huge gashes all over his skeletal body! I finish it off by bringing the sword down into his chest, pushing him down to the ground with me! I put both my feet on his torso and use him as a landing pad as we skid down a sand dune! Time reverting to its normal speed as I hit the ground!

I twist my neck and watch as he tries to get up. He succeeds and manages to summon two more sickles, swinging them at me. I feel my sword heat up, almost burning my hand. I swing at him.

"Oh but those are fake!" I say with a sadistic grin as I cut through his two sickles. "The ones over there are real!"

He falls back, holding his two broken sickles with look of terror on his face. I chuckle, twisting my neck and feel the bones crunch whilst picking up my hat and putting it back on my head.

"Toldja."

He stares at me, his empty eye sockets showing nothing "How are you not dead?"

I laugh. "Magic," I say as I feel the web of energy holding my wounds shut pulse,

"But... that speed, and that strength..."

"Once again – magic." I say with a cruel smile. He frowns,

"Is this all because I almost killed that stupid pegasus?" He asks, a strange grin appearing on his face. I stop, feeling extreme levels of rage take over my body. I grasp my sword and run at him,

I bring my sword to his neck. "Her name is RAINBOW DASH!"

"Oh so it must be your parents then!" he says with a smirk.

I halt the sword millimetres away from his neck. "What did you say?"

"You know, this is all because I killed your parents!" he replies.

I feel my heart start to pound. "My parents arent dead."

He nods. "Yes they are, they died right before I almost killed that pegasus."

"What are you talking about?" I say, feeling a strange sense of unease.

"I caused your parents death!" he says, holding out a claw in which a small black swirling mass appears. It grows and turns into a strange window. I look at it as it flickers and jumps to a car lying in lake, with a familiar liscense plate. My heart stops as I see two bodies float to the top, their necks clearly broken. My mom and dad, I feel a lump rise in my throat as he cackles!

Anger builds up in me at extreme levels. I straighten my hat and grab my sword, facing him.

"You bastard..." I mutter quietly. A part of me doesn't believe him, but it feels real. He continues to chuckle, his gash ridden chest heaving. He grabs his two sickles and faces me.

"How about we get back to our fight..." he says casually. My mind screams in sadness and anger but I feel the corners of my mouth curl into a smile.

"Naturally!" I yell, as I start to cackle madly, running at him with my sword! He bolts for me, both of our footsteps leaving small craters, forever disrupting the the sand. Our blades connect, shattering the peace that this biome lived in for hundreds of years. The ground and sand get ripped away, leaving a massive crater with the two of us in the centre! The air blows around us, creating an almost vacuum like effect as the dispelled energy from our attack continues outwards. I grin as he starts to buckle.

Then in a flash of light, I'm standing behind him. Facing outwards holding the black blood soaked sword. Ebony goo running down my arms and dripping onto the bare stone. I hear a gasping and gurgling noise behind me. I turn around to see Despair dragging himself on the rocks away from me, his body almost split in half! He makes another gurgling noise and his body shimmers, back into his pony form as he struggles to his knees. I walk over swinging my sword at my side and grabbing him by the mane, he turns to me, his eyeless face in a frown as more black goo drips from his mouth. He hisses and spits some on my face! I fall back with a yell,

"So you killed my parents, didn't you?" I ask.

"Why don't you ask that man? Or the princess..." He coughs out more goo. "They should know... heh, you beat me. I'm surprised, but my sister won't be happy, we were very close..."

He gurgles again, "Also keep an eye on that ugly pegasus. Just because I missed, doesn't mean somepony else won't miss."

I scowl and stand up, lifting my sword over my head,

"Shut up!" I say as I bring it down, severing the tendons and nerves that held his head to his body! His head falls with a thump and rolls back into the crater, while his body falls forward, fountaining that black goo.

I sigh and rub my temples, covering the sides of my head in more of the black goo. I then sit down on the stone, twirling my sword around and trying to fix my hat. (Speaking of which, where did I get that hat from?) I think as my shoulders start to ache. I groan and get back up so I can use my healing spell. Fix all them ole problems. I activate the spell and feel my shredded shoulders and back, knit themselves back together. Not a pleasent feeling.

I raise my hand, wondering how much longer I can maintain my human form, and summon a burlap sack. I walk over and grab his head, stuffing it into the bag and tying it shut,

"Asshole," I mutter as I transform back into my stallion body, "now what!?"

"Now you head south!" says a familiar voice. I close my eyes and see the tentacled pony dancing "Hey EKey, good job on killing him!" he says happily, "and nice sword! I have one too."

"Err... what?" I ask, confused.

"About this big." says the tentacled pony, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said 'what'." I reply incredulously.

"Well, you're gonna want to head that way," he says and I feel myself being drawn to the left, "That way is an old ghost town. There is an airship waiting for you, captained by some pegasus named Zephyr. He's a lot like you, except he's not a maniac carrying a head in a burlap sack... Except well, maybe, but you can trust him!"

"Uh huh..." I say. "So why are you being so helpful?"

"I don't know, I made a truce with that guy in Toronto and now I'm here to make peace with you. Speaking of which, If you had used me, your shoulders wouldn't be all ripped up!"

"I healed them."

"Hello, don't you think you have enough scars as it is?"

"Whatever. I killed him, that's the important part."

"Yeah well your bag is dripping."

"Oh!" I say as more black goo drips out of the bottom of the bag.

_Equestria, Canterlot: 10:39 PM_

Princess Celestia sighs and walks out of her observatory nodding to the two guards outside. From there, she walks along the south wall, to Rainbow Dash's room. She's currently staying there until EKey returns. "Well, shes gonna like my news," she thinks as she smiles to another guard. One bows and turns back to his post. She continues along the wall, reflecting on it's history.

The wall was built 1500 years ago, by the constructors – A group of unicorns who had a special talent in construction. They built all of the original Canterlot and the castle. However, after that they vanished and they were never heard of again.

Princess Celestia stops reflecting on her kingdom's history, seeing as she's now in front of Rainbow Dash's bedroom. She knocks, hearing a faint "enter" from her sister. She walks in, immediately feeling overwhelmed by the level of tension inside the room. She looks around, noticing her sister and the rest of the Mane 6 all comforting Rainbow Dash. She looks up when she sees me, her tear streaked face showing a need for news.

"I recieved word on EKey." I begin, her face brightens a bit, "He just beat Despair and is heading for Zephyr's airship. He should return within the next twenty hours."

She looks at Celestia nervously. "Is he okay?"

"He got pretty cut up, but has managed to heal himself. He will need medical attention when he arrives, however. I do have some bad news actually, I'm afraid EKey's parents have passed away. Now, EKey doesn't know this yet, so please try to stay courteous." Celestia replies. She nods and huddles on the corner of her bed again. Princess Luna walks over and sits next to her, putting a comforting arm around her. She shakes as more sobs rack her body. "I warned her not to fall for him..." thinks Princess Celestia as she nods and walks out of the room.

She stands there in the cool air, feeling out of place. Being over two thousand years old is a fairly contributing factor. She sighs, her breath coming out in small clouds.

"My princess," says a calm voice behind her.

Celestia jumps then twirls around. In front of her is a young unicorn as white as Rarity, but with a wild, deep purple mess of a mane that almost entirely covers both of his unblinking eyes. The unicorn is wearing what appears to be a thin, silk jacket that covers most of his neck and upper torso. His jacket is jet black, and even the most lowly of nobles would easily recognize his family heritage – House Marelin.

Celestia sighs in relief. "You scared me, Novel," she says with a smile. "I was just talking to Rainbow Dash."

"I do wish to apologize, but we have noticed your absence at the Gala. You know how the nobles talk..." replies the unicorn with a strange air of indifference, still unblinking.

She nods. "I'm sorry, but EKey vanished with Despair and I had to go see Rainbow Dash. She does care about him a lot."

"How quaint..." Novel tossed a furrowed look upon Celestia. "Why would anypony love an abomination? A weapon? It's as if I married my sword!"

She chuckles. "Not your sword but maybe your books."

He titters a bit but then stares at her darkly. "My books sit quietly in shelves, my sword nestles itself inside my scabbard and I expect this Equestria Key to be no different. He is not from here, he is dangerous, and it will only be a matter of time before more ponies suffer from the fire trail he leaves behind. He is a rabid dog that needs to be chained _or_ put down."

She recoils a bit and part of her screams to get rid of him. However she smiles. "It was only a joke, Novel. You really need to find a sense of humor."

He frowns, his eyes shifting as he walks to the edge of the wall beside her. "A joke is a very serious thing, is it not?" he says, trying his best to put on a weak smile. "I beg my leave, Princess, but please reflect upon my words."

She nods and turns back to the wall. There were too many problems she had to deal with and half of them seemed to revolve around the wobbly legged blank flank that was EKey. She sighs again and wishes she knew what to do.

_Desert: Unknown time_

"Please just shut the hell up!" I yell as the tentacled pony begins to sing another show tune.

"Oh it's all in good fun." he says with a chuckle.

I groan, feeling hot, tired, and frustrated. "Seriously, we've been walking for hours! Shouldn't we be there by now?"

He sighs. "Almost there. Besides, the sun is setting. That means that it's gonna get cooler."

"Still, it doesnt change the fact, that I'm tired."

"Oh quit whining! You saved the pegasus, killed the second spirit, and didn't completely destroy your suit! You should be celebrating! Not moping!"

"I wonder if he was right about my parents..." I say out loud as the tentacled pony sings another show tune, "Do you know if he was telling the truth?"

The tentacled pony stops singing. "Um, you might want to talk to Celestia about that..." he says quietly. I stop, understanding what he's insinuating.

"Oh..." I reply quietly. My mind numb and blank as waves of grief start to build up inside me. I scowl and start walking, (my parents may be dead, but the love of my life isn't) I think. I continue across the lonely desert, feeling the wind whip around me, pulling bits of gritty sand with it. I walk in somber silence, thinking of my parents. We got along at times, but at other times, we fought until one of us left. Usually me, I'd go to a friends house or my grandparents house. But I still loved them, however their loss was different. I felt like I had already lost them when I woke up in Equestria. It was both saddening and calming.

_Equestria, Manehatten: 10:50 PM_

Princess Luna gets up and tip hooves to the door. Leaving a sleeping Rainbow Dash there with the rest of the mane six (also asleep throughout the room). She closes the door with a quiet click and finds herself out in the cool air. She looks down the wall and almost at the end is her sister, staring beyond the wall with a sad smile. She trots over. "Hello Celestia." she says softly.

Princess Celestia looks up. "Hello my dear sister," she replies with a somber grin. Princess Luna walks over and stands beside her,

"You should get some rest. You've had a long day. Is something wrong?" she asks, puzzled by her sisters sadness.

"I'm just stressed and sad about Rainbow Dash. She loves him so much, I worry to see how this is affecting her. She truly loves him like no other. Something I would never have expected out of a pegasus like her..." she replies. Princess Luna nods,

"Well, friendship and kindness can bring out the best in ponies. I had a feeling that the two would hook up. Their contrasting personalities bring out the best in both of them. Resulting in a happy and harmonious relationship." she says.

Princess Celestia nods, "I suppose you're right..."

"Now will you please get some rest?" asks the dark alicorn.

"I suppose so..." replies her sister as she spreads her wings and takes off, heading for her tower. Princess Luna smiles and turns to the wall, just like her sister.

**End of Chapter**

**Authors Notes:** Well I was gonna do another cliffhanger but then I realized that it actually had no purpose and didn't drive the story forwards at all. So I ended up simply releasing this. Oh and sometime next week I'll be releasing the part 3 cover page on my deviantArt and Twitter both are Anunymau5 and Anunymau5 respectively. So yeah...no idea for the next chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

_By: Anunymau5_

Chapter 14

Equestria, 11:30 PM

"I'm done walking for the day," I say with a moan as I rest my aching shoulders. "I've been walking for four hours, carrying a head that won't stop bleeding!"

I wait for a reply but hear nothing except the sound of wind. I lie back, feeling the soft sand massage my freshly healed shoulders. The brand new skin and fur, still sensitive and weak. I then close my eyes, feeling a strange sense of peace overcome myself.

...

I'm standing at a funeral. In front of me, a small coffin is lowered into an open grave. I look around towards the other mourners, they are weeping silently. In fact, everything is silent. There is no sound save for my quiet breathing. I look closely at the emblem etched onto the coffin: it's a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out...

...My heart stops...

I'm also standing in a room. More mourners walk around, sobbing or shaking their heads in sadness. I look around, seeing a pair of coffins which are much larger. Flowers circle the wooden caskets. I hold my head, feeling tears start to build up. Until I notice a presence next to me. I look over as Rainbow Dash leans against me. I stare with awe as she looks up at me sadly.

"It wasn't your fault..." she says softly as tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry you died... I'm sorry I failed. I'm sorry; it all went to hell so fast..." I say as I break down in tears.

She puts her hooves around my neck. "Hey, it's not your fault..." she says as my sobs change into a whirring noise...

I sit up with a yell, still hearing the whirring noise. I get to my hooves, feeling the sand blow around me, darkening the sky above. I look up as a pair of lights turns on above me; a giant, darkened shape descends. I groan as my arm glows. What now?

"Oy, Equestria Whatsit, I'm here to pick you up!" calls a voice. I groan.

"What?" I say to no reply. Another light appears, this one growing closer. I shield my eyes and stand back as a ladder clangs to the ground, throwing sand everywhere (as if there already wasn't enough flying sand). I grab the hoof-built ladder and hold on as it rises with an industrial groan, pulling me towards the light, the bloodied bag hanging from my belt.

I enter the strange, large object, which creaks and groans. I crawl away from the ladder and into a large room ornamented with brass-coloured machinery. By the looks of it, this large room looks like a hanger of some sort. Air hisses from pipes and somewhere deeper inside the machine, something roars. I shake myself awake and look around. "What the..."

"Why hello there, Equestria something. You're not quite what I've expected," says a voice from behind.

I turn towards the voice and a see sharp-dressed Pegasus walking towards me. By the looks of his long, smoky hair that once resembled a blue-mane, and by the leather goggles strapped onto his face, I could instantly tell that I was indeed speaking with someone very... very... eccentric.

"Who are you?" I ask, sluggishly.

"Ah, I forgot my manners. I am Zephyr, the leader of the Myrmidons."

"Not another cult..." I say as I stand up. "Lemme' guess, you're pissed about me killing your demigod?"

He chuckles. "Did the ladder hit you or something? I said I was here to pick you up."

He approaches me, his cloak flapping behind him as he stares at me. His wild eyes shine through his cloudy goggles.

"Now, you okay, boyo?" he asks, his silk hat almost falling off from the blowing steam.

"Yeah, where are we?" I ask.

"We are inside my life's work!" Zephyr stands up on his hind legs and spreads his forelegs out wide "This is the Daedalus! My flagship!" he says, dropping back on all fours. "Come; let me give you the tour."

It takes all of my willpower to not start fiddling with anything delicate. "Err, okay..."

I follow the somewhat errant pegasus out of the room. We walk down a long cramped hall. Along out sides are doors with other pegasi inside wearing a variety of cloaks and cloak-covered overalls. I nod to a few as they stare at me. Zephyr rambles on about the ship's specs; I barely register what he's saying. The dream, about Dash, is still fresh in my mind...

Suddenly, he turns and we head up a flight of stairs. At the top is another locked door, he knocks a few times...and then sighs. "Damn crew's useless. They're too busy sleeping instead of learning how to unlock a door!" he says as he kicks the door open. I look outside at the pitch black sky, judging by the wind, I'm very high up. Very high. He walks to the edge, humming and motions for me to come over. I proceed cautiously, the wind pulling my tattered suit.

"Whaddya think?" he asks with a sly grin. I look over the edge; below us is a massive balloon, held in place by a web of metal struts. He points behind me to the rest of his massive airship. "I discovered how put the balloons inside the airship in order to conserve space and make it safer!" he says proudly, "There's no other airship in the world like this one! Heck, even those so-called 'efficient' Mareliners couldn't build anything to this scale!"

My jaw drops as my eyes travel the surface of this behemoth. He grins again, "Its twelve hundred metres in length, three hundred metres in width."

I stare at him. "This is amazing, but how did you pay for this?"

"Being a mercenary has its perks," he replies with another chuckle. "Now how about I show you around and your room?"

"Um... sure!" I reply, enthusiastic.

He nods and motions for me to follow him, "Also, we better get back inside, a sandstorm's brewing."

...

I lie down on my bed—more like a drab cot—after the tour, exhausted by today's events. I look over and check the clock, 6:11 AM. I sigh and close my eyes as the airship slowly rocks; Zephyr said we'd be back in about fifteen hours. Hopefully Dashie will be at Canterlot.

Equestria, Canterlot: 9:34 PM

Sheets fly up into the air as a large tremor jerks me from my slumber. I roll over and limp out of my bed, seeing the Canterlot skyline just outside my porthole shaped window. "Just once, I would like to get a good night's sleep!"

"Hey, calm down, Equestria Lock. I'm just here to tell you that we've docked. Your back in Canterlot," says a smiling Zephyr who is currently finding comfort reclining on the bunk in front of me with half his hoofs dangling from off the side.

"Are you ever going to get my name right?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Nope!"

"Fine..." I reply as I get up and walk around. "So, what will you be doing?"

Zephyr shrugs and then swings himself out of his bunk. He hops around, out of his tangled bed sheets, and then heads towards the room's steel-plated door.

I follow after him, entering the ill-lit main hall outside our room. "I'll stay here for a bit, refuel, and then get more food before I head off."

"Alright." He shrugs as I stand in the doorframe. "Well, be seeing you, Equestria something," he says as he tips his hat. I nod.

"Thanks," I reply, before descending through a flight of stairs and into the dark courtyard. By the looks of it, Zephyr landed the blimp right outside Castle Canterlot, which, by itself, is a great feat considering the security emplaced on the capital. But as I look around, I fail to recognize this part of the castle.

"Good to see you, Equestria Key," Princess Luna says as she flies down from above my vision.

She startled me, but I put on my best smile. "Good to be back, that desert was depressing. Anyone who could honestly enjoy spending time out there is some sort of idiot," I reply. She beams.

"Well, we are happy you're safe," she says with a serene smile, "but I assume you want to speak with my sister?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

She starts to walk out of the courtyard I find myself in and motions for me to follow. We walk down a series of open hallways until we find ourselves in the throne room. Standing there is Princess Celestia and a unicorn I've never met before.

Celestia turns to face us, followed by the mysterious unicorn. He tries to smile, but all he forms is a deranged half-grin. His glazed eyes are far from pleasant either.

"I take it, you destroyed him with ease?" asks Princess Celestia as she puts on a forced smile, drawing my attention away from her soul-peering companion.

I whip the bloodied bag towards her and release the drawstrings, letting the severed head roll down the steps. Princess Celestia inaudibly gasps, and the unicorn is unstirred yet attentive of the rolling head.

"At least the foreigner doesn't hide behind the facade of Equestrian etiquette," says the Unicorn, turning towards Princess Celestia. I can sense some awkward tension between the noble and his princess, but I was glad to have no part in it. Hopefully.

"Novel" — Princess Celestia shakes her head — "would you kindly find someone to clean up this mess?"

"I'm not responsible for him," says Novel with a closed-eyed shrug, "nor does my family wish to serve your crown... princess."

Celestia and Novel stare down each other; I try my best to stifle a cough, already fearing that I may soon entwine myself in a very ugly situation.

Novel whips back his cloak ever-so-slightly, revealing a flash of steel that my eyes immediately lock onto. For a moment I was afraid that he was going for his sword, but the unicorn quickly bows instead and immediately excuses himself into the darker recesses of the castle. Celestia sighs and I nod off in annoyance.

I inch towards her. "You lied to me..." I begin before she cuts me off.

"I know, Ekey, I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to contact you. I thought he was dead. I'm sorry I dragged you into this whole mess. I'm sorry you keep having nightmares. I'm sorry you have to fight and get hurt. I'm sorry..." she says, her shoulders drooping. "This is all getting too tiring."

I nod as I kick the head away, a soft squelching noise occurring as it bounces. "What about my parents?" I ask, "Are they dead?" The head comes to a stop, still leaking. Where's all the blood even coming from anyway?

She hangs her head and nods. Part of me screams in frustration, but I shut it away. I'll deal with that at a later juncture.

"How's Rainbow Dash holding up?" I ask, concern layering my tired voice.

"She's worried about you, but we managed to get her to sleep. Would you like to see her?" Celestia asks.

I nod and she walks down a different hallway towards a spiral staircase. I follow her as quickly as I can, narrowly avoiding running into a royal guard.

"Her friends were staying in her room but moved to other rooms today. I would like to take you to see a doctor tomorrow," she says as we take a turn and scale up a flight of stairs.

I'm not entirely sure if that's a good idea; different physiology, and all that. "Alright..." I say; it's going to have to happen eventually, anyway. We reach the top; in front of me is a wooden door.

"Well here you are..." says Princess Celestia, "And, EKey, I am truly sorry about everything."

I nod.

"Don't be." I say as she pushes the door open. I walk in and she re-closes the door on me, leaving me in the dimly-lit room. I hear a mumbling and the sound of blankets being pulled. However I can barely see. I wait for my eyes to adjust, which they do slowly which results in me tripping and hitting my shoulder against a wall. I quickly stifle a yelp as pain surges from my sensitive shoulder, but it's too late.

"Murmbles... Who is it?" asks Rainbow Dash as she turns on a bedside lamp. She looks around, her eyes stopping at me. "EKey?" she asks slowly as though she doesn't believe me. I smile.

"Hey..." I say quietly, massaging my aching shoulders. Her face erupts in a giant smile as she runs at me,

"Hey, watch the shoul-AAAHHH!" I yell as Rainbow Dash tackles me in a hug, my shoulders scraping off the carpet. Carpet burn plus fresh skin?! Augh!

We slide to a stop. I feel a pair of hooves around my waist as Rainbow Dash lies on top of me, her lips locked against mine. She lies there, hugging me tightly, with her wings wrapped around me as well. Finally after a few seconds, she pulls away, looking at me with her rose eyes,

"I was so worried..." she begins as tears start to appear in her eyes. I smile and brush her tears away with a gentle hoof.

"Don't be. I'm back and safe," I say as she smiles.

"But it was all so confusing. One second we're dancing, and then I'm on my back with two halves of a spear beside me, and you're there being clawed up by that bladed pegasus! Then you're gone!" she says as she brushes my mane out of my eyes.

"I'm sorry for that. It was pretty sudden, but I killed Despair and scared Celestia along with that weird unicorn."

"I don't like Novel; he creeps me out. He's like a snake doing a poor impression of a stallion," she says casually with a couple light giggles. "Are you hurt?"

"A bit, he shredded my shoulders and I got kicked a few times. But not much more than that." I say with a sheepish grin. She looks at me worried and touches my shoulder gently. I hiss in pain and she recoils, resting her head on my chest. I feel my chest grow a bit wet as her tears soak my fur.

"Why do you always have to get hurt?" she sobs, her body shaking as she hits my arm. "Why do you always return with more cuts?"

I sigh, brushing her mane, "I'm sorry...It's my job to stop them..."

She continues to sob. "Yes, It's your job to stop them. But, not to get killed in the process! It's ok to back down EKey. You can always try again...but you don't, you just fight until you collapse..." I think of something to say, but come up with nothing. She still lies there, resting her head on me with tears streaming out of her eyes.

"This last month, you've had more wounds than me in my entire life! I've watched you come back with blood streaming from gashes all along your body!" she cries out. I finally sit up and she rolls off me, sitting up and wiping her eyes. I grab her shoulders and stare into her eyes,

"I'm sorry. I don't like getting hurt either, I don't see it as sport or anything. It's my job..." I say. She nods and sniffles, staring back at me,

"But, I don't want to lose you..." she mumbles. I kiss her forehead.

"Look at how much I've been hurt. I still haven't died! Trust me Dashie, I'm not going anywhere," I say with slight arrogance. She nods and mumbles something before changing the subject,

"Did you talk to the Princess?"

I feel part of me cry out, "yes..." I reply sadly. She looks at me, "I'm so sorry..." she says before grabbing me in a tight hug. I hug her back, feeling my tears pour out as I finally break down.

...

I lie there with Rainbow Dash snuggled into me, her head resting on my chest, her arm draped over me in a loving fashion. She sleeps soundly, leaving me with my thoughts. I lie there, remembering my parents. I can't really hold a funeral, because there is nothing to bury. I lie there as a lone tear travels down the side of my face, leaving a dark streak on my fur. Rainbow Dash mumbles something and shifts in her sleep, snuggling into me more and refolding her small wings. I smile sadly at her and brush her mane, noticing the shortened part from where the spear grazed her. I stretch and yawn, accepting that sleep will not grace me tonight.

**End of Chapter:**

**Authors Notes: **So I'm really sorry for the extreme wait, some stuff came up along the lines of my last year of highschool. Oh and much more importantly, the rare art of trying to be good at devil may cry. But I digress, the cover art isn't done, But I promise PROMISE (caps means legit) that I will have it out by the next chapter. Which by the way, is the last chapter of part 2! Finally it will be done and we can get moving onto the final act.

H


	15. Chapter 15

**The Equestria Key: Shadow of Discord**

**Finale: The Cataclysm**

_By Anunymau5_

_Equestria, Canterlot: 10:28 AM _

_Shift, Unknown Time, Unknown Location:_

The illusive EÿE walked along the floating stone path. It had no gender, but it still referred itself as "He". Existing outside of any universe. But instead between them. Around it, images of the dying human floated into view. Images of his bleeding form as various energies floated around him. For once in the infinite cycle of Equestria Keys, all three energies were present. But this mattered little to him, his current task was to somehow escape the middle veil. He didn't know how but, he suspected that it somehow involved that other humanoid who trapped him there in the first place. He hoped it would end up not involving him. Last time they met, things had gotten somewhat out of hand. However the illusive EÿE once again put this all behind him and continued down the path. A universe slowly swirling on each side around him. One contained the Equine world Equestria, the other contained the industrial world Earth. These universes along with an infinite number of other universes orbited the core. An infinite supply of Lunaris energy, constantly dividing into Ignotium and Solarium. These would then eventually be recycled back into Lunaris. However the Equestria Keys actions led to a sudden decrease in Ignotium, upsetting the balance between all three. This would prove to be problematic if not remedied soon.

_Shift:_

I walk casually through the garden with Rainbow Dash trotting beside me, trying to cheer me up. It's working, but only a bit. I try to laugh at her jokes as she leans against me with her tail entwined with mine, but I still can't get past the grief. That and the strange sense of foreboding. We turn a corner, seeing yet another path full of flowers, the Canterlot Royal Garden was impressive, but still depressing. I sigh as Rainbow Dash looks at me concerned before leading me to a bench and sitting on it,

"I take it this isn't lifting your spirits..." she says sadly. I shrug, feeling as though an immense weight has fallen on my shoulders. She nods and sighs as well,

"Well it was worth a try...wanna head back inside?" she asks softly, giving me a light peck on the cheek. I nod again and we stand back up. She smiles brightly,

"Let's get some food!" she says happily as I trudge after her. I sigh, feeling a strange sense of unease. She pauses, feeling it too,

"Hey whats goi..." she begins before being interrupted by a scream and an explosion! I fall back, holding Rainbow Dash protectively as the ground around us is ripped apart! I hold her, with my wings wrapped around her as rocks and gravel fall!

_The illusive EÿE raised his hands and watched as the universes trembled and then cracked, a large rift appearing in both. He watch the Equestria Key contort and the other humanoid hold his head in pain. They were linked. They were all linked. The Equestria was linked with the Eye of Discord who was linked with Discord. The Equestria Key was also linked with that humanoid for unknown reasons. It wasn't relatives or anything, it was something deeper. As if they were once the same. Or maybe he was simply over thinking things and should focus on the two rifts in Earth and Equestria. It approached the one in earth, watching as more cracks appeared in that universe. It raised his hand and watched it collapse. That universe no longer had a purpose, The Equestria Key was never going to return to it anyways. Destroying it would mean to destroy that humanoid. But the universe stopped crumpling, something was still holding it together! It scowled, someone was trying to stop him. He watched as that humanoid continued to hold and repair the universe. Something needed to be done about him..._

Finally the dust clears and I get up with a cough. Pulling Rainbow Dash too her hooves. She shakes the gravel out of her mane,

"What in Celestia just happened?!" She yells as everything goes quiet. I look around, trying to spot somepony in the dust a haze. But to no avail. Suddenly I feel a presence behind me! I whirl around, readying my shockwave spell. But there's nothing except now it feel like they are to my left! I repeatedly whirl around, trying to find the pony! But nothing. Rainbow Dash coughs again,

"What happened?" she asks as more dust falls, showing the carnage. Most of the courtyard we were in has been destroyed!

"Hello Equestria Key..." says a familiar voice.

"You..." I begin as I push Rainbow Dash away and transform into a human! I grab my sword and ready it, as I feel heat behind me! I turn around, using the flat side of my sword to sheild myself from the fireball!

I get back to my feet, swirling the smouldering sword around me. The flaming pony scowls, her black eyes narrowing. I grin,

"What do you want?" I ask as she begins to circle me,

"Vengeance!" she says, diving for my throat! I roll back, catching her teeth with my sword! She bites down on the blade and I hear a numbing crack! She steps back, smoke hissing from her mouth. I twist my neck, feeling a loud cracking noise,

"Rainbow Dash, stand back!" I say. She obliges, hiding behind a bench. I whirl my cracked sword around, blocking her many fireballs! Until she stops and then explodes in flames, Throwing me backwards! I hit a tree with a groan as the flames slowly subside (was that it?) I think. The flames clear and I find myself staring at someone familiar, except with a long gold trimmed cloak and a strange straightjacket like vest underneath,

"How would you like to be killed by yourself?!" she...he screams staring at me with still black eyes. I ready my sword as my double summons a similar one, except with a perpendicular blade jutting out of the top! She laughs, swirling the sword as though it was a baton. Then swings it downwards, shattering the very air around us! I get blown back but retain my stance as she goes back to lazily swishing the sword. I run at her swinging. She turns, staring at me as time slows down. She raises her arm and in a flash of light, grabs my blade! Returning time to its normal speed! The ground around us cracks as she twists her arm, throwing me over her shoulder and snapping the sword!

I get up as she swings her sword in a flash of light! The trees all split as though hit by an axe! Even the benches fall apart and suddenly, I am thrown backwards again! I hit the far wall with a thud as trees around me are also split into pieces! (what the...) I think as a tingling feeling envelopes my body! I look down at my arms, watching the blood gush out from the hundreds of gashes now covering my body! I slump to the ground, a ringing noise filling my ears, everything already going dizzy from blood loss! I hear a faint scream and a blue blur fades into veiw!

"It's ok EKey, you're gonna be ok! You're gonna be ok, just sit still. Just sit still. It's ok EKey, you're gonna be fine. Don't worry." says Rainbow Dash franticly as she holds my bleeding body. I cough up blood and she cries out in either fear or sadness. Maybe both. Everything starts to fade away as I hear cruel laughing and then sobbing. Or maybe wailing...

_Shift:_

The illusive EÿE watched the Equestria Key slaughter the cult. He watched the Equestria Key battle Despair, Destruction, and Discord on a mountain top. He watched their combined energy rip holes in the very fabric of reality around them. He watched as they were attacked in all 4 dimensions. He watched until the dust settled and the Equestria Key crawled away from the wreckage. He walked over to the bleeding Equestrian and placed his hand on it's head. Gently brushing its mane out of its eyes. He closed his eyes and the Equestria Key glowed red for a faint second before collapsing. Any life left in its body now gone. The Equestria Key was dead.

_Shift:_

I sit there, feeling a strange sense of unease. I look down, (Oh, I'm wearing pink pajamas...) I think as I hear faint hoofsteps. I look over at the tentacled pony who's looking at me sadly,

"If you want, I can still take over and fight her.." he says. I blink and stand up, pulling at the Pj's.

"What will happen to Rainbow Dash?" I ask.

"Nothing, but you better choose soon, otherwise you will die." he says as he checks a watch.

"I thought time moved more slowly here.." I say. He shakes his head,

"That's when your talking to your vessel. When your talking to me, time moves at it's normal speed. No matter, your gonna die in about 30 seconds. Time to choose." he says as he looks at a watch.

"Fine...you can take over..." I say. He claps his hooves,

"Great choice EKey, now sit down and enjoy the show!" he says with glee as a large screen begins to materialize into view. I watch it and it flickers on, showing Rainbow Dash holding my/his bleeding body. However he groans and sits up, pushing Rainbow Dash away as he stands up, the wounds all over his body closing up. He grabs the broken sword, my eyes being replaced by a pair of swirling black holes. He grins, his teeth looking more canine than usual as he lunges at Destruction,

"Why hello my dear sister!"

_Ten Thousand Years earlier, End of the first Equestria Keys life:_

The sky broke open as lightning rained down on the Equestria Keys corpse. Raw Lunaris fell down from the sky, eroding and obliterating anything in it's path. Equestria slowly burned away, along with the rest of the universe.

_Shift, many years before Celestia and Luna:_

_The illusive EÿE raised his hands again. The sky fell. The oceans dried up, the mountains broke apart into the air but never hitting the ground. The planet cracked and burned. All around him, humanoids fell dying and Equestrians simply cried amongst the flames. The world lit up with the power of Ignotium and Solarium. The planet destroyed all life and then split perfectly down the middle. Then the sun split, and the other galaxies split. Until the universe was split down the middle. They divided and each became one. Both were powered by both Solarium and Ignotium. Flowing between the two was the raw power of Lunaris. Until they each became a separate universe to join the infinite cycle. One became Earth, the other became Equestria._

_Shift, Toronto, Canada, unknown time_

The man climbs into the sewer grate, heading for the strange humming noise. He had heard it about 10 minutes earlier, with no idea where its origin was. He climbs down the ladder, noting the slime and mold with disgust,

"Well where are you Mr. Hum?" he mutters as he drops onto the walkway. He sneezes, the dust of ancient waste tickling his nose. He then continue towards the humming noise,

"Ah so where are you hiding?" he says, peering around a corner and finding a swirling black mass,

"There you are! Mr. Hum, I thought you were dead!" he yells at the spiraling black. It shifts, become less corporeal and becoming somewhat bipedal. Shifting into a form with legs and hands. A single eye appears, glowing white with a beady pupil,

"Ah someone else. I did not expect you to find me. It's been too long." says a voice from within the substance. It stretches its shadowy arm out in greeting,

"You're starting to show your age!" it says softly, the hand shifting into a claw. The man steps back,

"You've changed haven't you? Who was it this time?" he asks. His brow furrowing. The shadowy creature laughs, it's body rippling as another eye opens on its outstretched palm,

"Well I can't tell you that one. It would spoil the surprise!" he says happily, a pair of shadowy wings sprouting from his back. The man steps back again,

"So you're what tried to collapse the universe..." he says angrily. The shadowy creature chuckles again, a fanged mouth appearing on his forearm,

"Pretty much. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and fix this cataclysm" he says, "I just feel like I should fix what I've done."

He changes shape again, now turning into a single eye which closes. Leaving a thin black line, floating. The man rushes forward, trying to grab it but to no avail. The man simply hits the other wall. Suddenly the ground rumbles, dust falls from the ceiling and far down, the man can hear a cracking noise! He turns and runs but the sewer collapses, killing him. Someone Else was dead.

_Shift:_

As the Equestria Key's body bled, as the Eye of Discord commanded it, as the sky broke to reveal a crimson canvas, crackling with energy as its twin universe began imploding. The Equestria Key watched, memories of his past resurfaced,Memories of his arrival. Memories of his first fight, Memories of his life in Equestria. They were good memories. But they were doomed memories.

**End of Act II**

Authors notes: THANK YOU GUYS! Thank you so much for sticking with this until now. I know I already uploaded this chapter like five days ago but I found out that it was formatted wrong so I fixed it and re uploaded it. Thus ends Act II in all of it's weird broken and meta glory. Don't worry I promise everything will be explained. Like actually explained. I also promise to set up an uploading schedule for Act III. Sadly, the cover art still isn't done but I'm working on like four different versions. So what's probably gonna happen is I'm gonna upload all of them and see which one you guys like most. Also, Act III is called Ekey: The destruction of all nice things. Just a heads up and don't expect the first chapter for like another month to month and a half. IN the meantime, I will be heavily revising Act I and II just to fix up plot holes and spelling errors. Also don't forget to look for me on Twitter if you want to Anunymau5. Also don't forget to review and if possible tell your brony friends/advertise this fic. Please?


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